The Adventures of a Dimensionally Challenged Bird-Thing
by almatheshortstuff
Summary: Bird things generally have a hard time of things, especially if they're in the Earth-saving business. Following Ali's misadventures through the Avengers' history. Sequel to The Inbetween
1. Avengers (2012)

A lot of the chapters are fitted into the MCU timeline, and some are meant to fit into the movies themselves, so I left out a lot of plot points. If you want to see how these fit in exactly, I suggest watching the movies. Given this point, this story is more for my benefit than anything else.

Anyway, hope you all enjoy.

* * *

**The Avengers (2012)**

**New York**

Ali was plagued with nightmares.

Admittedly, being plagued with nightmares sounded very cool and important, like she was haunted by some thirsty demon of the night. In reality, however, it meant that Ali was more irritable, prone to headaches and sore throats, and tired of feeling sweaty and gross when she woke up.

She tried everything – aromatherapy, sleeping pills, exercise, anything and everything she could think up, except for any psychobabble. The night terrors had her screaming her lungs out every night, until her throat was bloody and raw. It had been a couple months since she was sent back to Earth 616.67 from IDEA, and she was having a shitty time acclimating back to civilization. Before she'd been beamed up to IDEA, she, Steve, and Agent 21 had apprehended one Dr. John Grahame, a manipulative sociopath with a background in psychology, but not before he'd done seemingly irreparable damage to her.

Initially, Ali bought extra cabinets simply for her Fruit by the Foots collection, and she ate enough to make herself sick at the sight of Razzle Boo Blitz. She moved on from Fruit by the Foot to many different types of candy, each reigning shorter than the last. At the moment, Ali ate Reese's Peanut Butter Cups religiously, and she hoped that her bundle of mental illnesses was straightened out a little before she had to shun them as well.

In addition to ingesting much too much sugar than was necessary in the hopes that it would cure her of her depression and anxiety, Ali stayed up longer and longer into the night, terrified of her own subconscious and the terrifying visions that seemed prophetic when projected onto the back of her eyelids. She screamed herself back into consciousness, and her terror would not release her until far into the day.

Steve ran and boxed the PTSD out of his system. Ali exercised with him whenever she could, but she was often not presentable when Steve went out for his dawn runs. She did, however, partake in learning parkour with him, and helped him try out some new mixed martial arts. He soon outstripped her in mastery, but Ali learned steadily in her own way.

[]

Ali had been at the grocery store restocking up on Reese's Peanut Butter cups when she was approached, quite casually, by Maria Hill.

"Imagine that," Ali grunted without turning toward her. "I thought you'd have an intern's intern doing your grocery shopping, but you're just as plebian as the rest of us."

"Special agents don't shop for groceries," Maria deadpanned.

"What?" Ali turned toward her. "So you actually do have an intern for it, or-?"

"Look, Ali, we need your help," Maria interjected. Her curtness was not lost on Ali, who shut up immediately. "It's the worst case scenario, code red, whatever you'd like to call it," Maria continued.

"Yeah?" Ali prompted.

"Let's just say it's like nothing we've had to deal with before. A briefing packet will be in your apartment with the details. Nick is already talking to the Captain, and we're bringing in anyone and everyone we can think of."

"Sakuya?"

"Still in the Atlantic – she's got her own mission that takes precedent." Maria looked hard at Ali. "You'll come?"

Ali snorted again. "You haven't told me _what's the matter_, Maria!"

"Well," Maria said, looking uncomfortable. "How much do you know about Asgardians and their toys?"

"Thor?" Ali asked incredulously.

"Loki," Maria said gravely. Ali laughed mirthlessly.

"Oh, I'll come. There's no party like a Loki party, trust me."

[]

When Steve returned to his apartment, Ali was waiting for him, dozing while folded uncomfortably face-first into his couch. She stirred as he entered, and dozed while he showered. He did not ask how she had entered. They discussed the mission, with mixed feelings of foreboding and excitement. Steve was highly skeptical, and he explained to her how the cube had been used by HYDRA in the second World War.

"What was SHIELD doing with it?" Ali muttered back, as she sifted through files. "Working in sustainable energy? I won't argue the fact that society today really does need it, but SHIELD? Why? Out of the altruistic goodness of their hearts?"

Steve didn't have anything to say to that.

Ali called it an early night, retiring to her apartment when she realized she couldn't understand much of the material. Steve, however, read through each page carefully, brow furrowed, even if he didn't understand a single word.

[]

Early in the morning, they headed to SHIELD headquarters and were transported by jet – probably to a secure location, or somewhere easily transportable and with enough firepower to shoot Loki to dust if he tried anything funny. Ali closed her eyes and tried to squeeze in some sleep, but ended up listening to Steve and Coulson talk.

"I watched you while you were sleeping," Coulson told Steve. There was a pause, before he began to backpedal as quickly as possible. "I mean, I was – I was present while you were unconscious – from the ice." Ali opened her eyes to catch Steve's expression change, and winked jovially at him and Coulson.

[]

They were met, coming off the jet, by Natalia Romanova – no, Natasha Romanoff. Ali had to keep reminding herself that she was not _her_ Natalia Romanova, who had been her mentor, and a good friend for many years. No, this was Natasha Romanoff, a spy for SHIELD, defected from the Russian KGB.

"Ali Valenteri. The new bird, right?" Natasha asked with a smile.

"That's me," Ali agreed brightly. "It's great to finally meet you."

"Well, I heard that you already know me," Natasha replied silkily.

"Yes, and no. Most versions of people are different across dimensions, but I'm really not supposed to talk about it," she said, smiling impishly.

"Oh? Santa's not listening in," Natasha said with a smile.

"Well, Fury probably is."

They reached Bruce Banner, who was wringing his hands nervously and looking around.

"Ali Valenteri," she said, smiling softly.

"Bruce Banner," he replied, and they shook hands. "You know me?"

"Oh, who doesn't?" she said cryptically, unsure how many people knew she was from an alternate dimension. "I was debriefed before coming, doctor. If it's any consolation, I'm new, too."

"I wouldn't say I'm new, per se," Bruce replied darkly.

When the helicarrier took off into the air, Ali stood at the edge, watching as the water seemed to fall away. She laughed, saluted Steve, Natasha, and Bruce, and let herself fall backward into thin air. She looped several times around the craft, familiarizing herself with its structure and trying not to get wet (and failing), laughing as she went.

She entered the craft, windswept and beach-sprayed to find Steve standing around watching the SHIELD operatives hard at work.

"You could do that," Ali said helpfully, gesturing to them. "Well, some of it," she backtracked, when he gave her a look. She had taught him to do the most basic Google searches after the Retreat, which was probably only possible because he was already familiar with the typewriter keyboard. She wondered if he'd done any practice on his own, since they'd been assigned their apartments.

"So both of us do nothing," she conceded chipperly, punching him gently in the shoulder. "Could be worse."

"Could be," he agreed, his eyes still following the strange screens about him. Phil Coulson approached on their periphery, and Ali waved him over, allowing him a clear shot at getting Steve's autograph.

"I fly," she reminded him good-naturedly as she passed by. The anonymity was quite refreshing – she had once worked so hard for it, where the secret identities of superheroes were such taboo. Here, where they were out in the (relative) open, no one knew her. She watched a dude play galaga discreetly and felt oddly transparent. It came as a relief when they called her to suit up.

Her old suit having been destroyed beyond further usage upon entry into the dimension, SHIELD had gotten her a simple bodysuit, white, which would keep her out of sight in the air. It felt bulky and cumbersome, and she vowed to get something more streamlined and aerodynamic later on.

"Nice suit," she said, checking out Steve's ass. He sighed. Ali grinned. "So, Stuttgart. Ever been there?"

[]

They arrived to find Loki of Asgard looming over the citizens. Only one man stood defiant before him. Ali flew immediately to an overturned police car, while the Captain went to save the old man making a stand. Ali returned to help herd everyone out of harm's way, and had to save a young woman from being trampled. Steve's fighting style was rather flashier than she remembered. Perhaps he was compensating for his spangly suit. She couldn't help wincing as he was thrown this way and that like a ragdoll. Just as she had made her mind up to intervene, Tony Stark showed up and detained Loki.

"Tony Stark, billionaire, philanthropist," she said with a wry smile, as they walked into the jet.

"You left out playboy. Alizeh Valenteri, the bird," he quipped quickly.

"You've done your research," she said, impressed and a little flattered. "Call me Ali."

[]

Ali listened idly by as Tony and Steve quibbled, and sighed a long breath, her anxiety flaring up, unbidden and unwelcome.

"Fury doesn't tell you a lot of things," Tony said to Steve, and she had to say her two bits.

"The Loki I knew was a chick," she stated matter-of-factly. Thunder and lightning crashed outside. "And right on time, there's the brother."

Ali threw herself out just as Thor stole Loki away, with a sigh. As Tony went for Thor, she went for Loki.

"I'm listening," Loki said lightly in a sing-song voice, as Tony tackled Thor to the ground.

"Hi," Ali said cheerily as she landed beside Loki. "They'll be back, probably."

She flew him back to the ship, keeping him close, but not too close. "You're making as little noise as possible, I see," she remarked nonchalantly as she brought him back on board. Just in time, too, as trees were levelled far below them, and a sound like a gong resounded through the forest into the air. "That could have killed someone," she said, and looked to Loki, with a suggestive smile.

He was not amused.

* * *

**SHIELD Helicarrier**

"That man is playing Galaga – he thought we wouldn't notice, but we did," Tony said grandiosely.

"Galaga is a game," Ali whispered to Steve, suppressing a smile. When Tony and Bruce got started on what she could only guess was science, she put her head down on the table, trying to cool it. When Steve understood the monkey reference and shared it with the table in his best goody schoolboy voice, she looked up.

Ali opened her mouth.

Ali closed her mouth.

[]

"Steve," she called when he rushed out of the lab, jogging to catch up. "Where are you going?"

She had stood just inside the doorway while Tony and Steve argued – again – and was torn between her own suspicion of SHIELD and her loyalty to the Captain. It didn't help that she had voiced the same concerns as Tony and Bruce when she and Steve gone over their debriefing packets together. He gave her a funny look, one that meant trouble, and she sighed.

"I can override most alarm systems, if you need me to," she suggested, and they set off down the hall.

[]

Ali stayed mostly silent during the verbal arguments and insults flying about, but breathed out hard through her nose. In her dimension, the Avengers had argued occasionally, and sometimes fought irreparably, but they mostly had each other's backs. Tony and Steve were going to make uneasy friends, at best.

She only stepped in to pull them apart, using her loudest voice in what would hopefully shock their animal brains into cooperation.

"Hey, hey! Break it up, boys – this isn't going to be solved by you 'going a couple fucking rounds,'" she yelled, getting in between.

"Stay out of it, Ali," Steve said in a low voice.

"Yeah, stay out of it, Ali," Tony echoed. "What is it that you do, again, other than fly around and get in my flight path?"

"Excuse me, when you can achieve flight independent of material assistance, you can talk," she snapped back.

"Haha, you people are so petty and tiny," Thor laughed, though it was in bad taste.

"Yeah, this is a team," Banner sniped.

"Agent Romanoff, would you escort Dr. Banner to his-," Fury tried.

"Where? You rented my room."

"The cell was just in case…" Fury trailed off as Banner relayed his suicide attempt. Ali let out a breath she didn't know she'd been holding in as he set down the scepter.

"Sorry kids, you don't get to see my party trick after all," he said.

[]

Ali couldn't help but feel that perhaps she'd made a mistake getting on the helicarrier when the turbine exploded. Sighing raggedly, she flew outside, taking stock of the damage quickly.

"Stark! Can you fix that?" she called as she flew beneath the helicarrier.

"Yeah – just give me a sec!" he called as he began to push the turbine.

"We don't have a sec!" Ali yelled back as she began to muster all of her strength. She gathered all of the air currents that were in the vicinity and molded them to her will – pushing it evenly up at the helicarrier to make sure that it didn't fall too quickly. It was still losing altitude much too quickly to be comfortable, and Ali doubled her efforts. The least she could do was give everybody still fighting an even playing field.

Ali didn't know it, but she was screaming as she did so. Her entire body was pulled taut – she couldn't have stopped even if she wanted to. Veins popped in her arms and her ears and nose, and she was coughing up blood. Her limbs loosened as she began to fall, slowly. Tony had done it – he'd gotten the turbine to work. Ali smiled as the edges of her vision became red – then black.

Tony swooped down, grabbed her before she could fall to her death (oh, the irony), and flew back up. He threw Ali at the Captain, who barely caught her, and barreled into the shooting hostile. Ali lost consciousness staring up at Steve without seeing him, with no feeling in her ears or her arms. She woke up to someone telling them that Agent Coulson was down. The voice was like a needling mosquito at first, but got louder and clearer as they kept talking. Ali was repairing herself.

[]

She listened as Fury spoke of the Avengers Initiative, and although she couldn't move very well, she felt an inkling of hope. By the time they were suiting up, she was grateful that she was already in her bodysuit, because she doubted she could have dressed herself just then. She did, however, grab Steve by the arm when he tried to leave her behind, and glared at him with bloodred eyes.

"Going somewhere, gorgeous?" she whispered, because that was all she could manage.

He seemed gently adamant about leaving her behind, but Ali got up with a groan, leaning heavily on him but able to walk, more or less.

"I always slept well going on fieldtrips."

* * *

**New York**

She jumped out of the jet before they made it to New York, rushing ahead.

"We need to start evacuating people," she said into her earpiece, "the Chitauri are not going to be as amenable as Loki, or even as humanoid."

"I've got my fingers crossed. Last time you made an assumption based on your dimension, you told me Loki was female," Steve replied drily. Ali moved quickly anyway.

Ali blasted as many Chitauri as she could out of the sky. She used concentrated bursts of air, like bowling balls of compressed nitrogen, to conserve her energy, but whenever a large horde came at her, she used the air currents against them and screwed with their flight patterns.

She joined the others for the strategy meeting on the street, watching the chaos and destruction going on. When the Hulk took on a battleship or some organic container for the Chitauri hostiles, she watched idly. It kept making whale noises. She loved whales. She took one on herself, constricting the air around it so that it could no longer move, and locating its lungs to compress, like a tin can. She then flew straight into a building, where she lay unable to move for some time.

The employees of the firm milled about her, speaking in gentle, worried voices.

"You should maybe get downstairs, or somewhere less exposed than this," she told them in a tiny voice. She then spent the next three minutes giving herself a pep talk to get up and fly back out. It took at least five minutes before she could get up without her head spinning.

[]

"Everybody get off First," Ali panted. She was being chased by a whole flock of Chitauri, and one of them had managed to shoot her in the leg. It was only a flesh wound, and it would heal sooner than later, but her bodysuit had been damaged and her movement was restricted.

"What?" yelled back Steve.

"_Run!_" she screamed as she threw her body into a mid-air spin. Wind began to pick up from all around, and she was spinning in earnest now. She closed her eyes, unable to keep them open against the air currents. When she opened them again, she was in her own little hurricane, and she'd stopped spinning. Ali grinned.

"Show time."

She was the one chasing this time around, and the Chitauri frantically rushed away in all directions. It was too bad they were too close to escape, and the wind sucked them in even as they fled. They were crushed as they were thrown up, and then down to the ground. If any got too close to Ali, she didn't flinch away, but rather crushed them like insects. She'd lived in a crappy New York apartment long enough to know how to handle roaches. She was a little god of destruction as she moved all through First, when she spotted the Captain running for his life some ways before her. Her grin grew as he glanced back at her before speeding up. She was catching up quickly, and she decided to make a push for it.

Ali hadn't realized that she was still healing from her ordeal with the helicarrier, but she suddenly ran out of juice a couple yards away. She threw her body in the general direction of Steve, and managed to mutter, "Heads up."

He jumped, twisted his body midair, and caught her like he was catching a football. She was substantially heavier than a football, however, and they rolled roughly. All the while Steve didn't let go. Ali was touched – a bit too much. He was heavy, and she could feel it.

In her pain, Ali found herself either laughing or dry-heaving – it felt the same to her. After a dull cough, Steve joined in with a hollow chuckle. She was not sure why he was laughing – she had been hit in the head with his shield, and everything felt funnier when she was concussed.

"That was fun," Ali rasped. Then, "I'm grounded."

When they got up, she hissed in pain, and her leg folded beneath her.

"It's the suit. Some son of a – bast – sorry, some asshat shot me in the leg. Can you just tear it off for me? I don't think there's anything else to do at this time," she grit out, blasting an approaching Chitauri.

"Cover me," he said simply.

He leaned her against his shoulders as he simply tore the armor right off her leg. She gave a gasp of pain, but tested out her leg and shot two more approaching Chitauri with one of their alien scepters lying about.

"Thanks. It'll be fun to fight on the ground," she said with relish. They were soon joined by Thor, who packed a wallop quite the wallop. When he got there, she took off into the air again, and dispatched those that threatened to surround the three from the air and from afar. Her eyes were just about ready to spit blood when Nat's voice sounded in her ear.

"I can close it. Can anybody copy? I can shut the portal down."

"Do it!" Steve urged, but Tony cut in.

"No, wait."

Ali gave a frustrated yell as she blasted pure air at everything outside of a two-yard circumference. She was out of juice again, and she landed, hard, on her knees, and tried to make it look as if she were crying out of pain.

"Shit on a stick," she swore, as Steve and Thor resumed fighting about her. The next second, she was up, and fighting side by side with them.

"He's not slowing down," Thor noted, and began to wind up his hammer.

"I'll go," Ali said decisively, and bent her knees to take off. Before she could, however, the Hulk jumped, simultaneously catching Tony and crashing into a nearby building. The least Ali could do was cushion them as they fell, but they landed hard anyway.

"Is he breathing?" Steve asked, concerned, and Ali bent down to check. She was readying herself, again, to do CPR on Tony when the Hulk beat her to the chase, again.

"Aagh! What the hell? What just happened? Please tell me nobody kissed me," Tony said in quick succession. Ali was very tempted to do just that.

"We're not finished yet," Thor pointed out.

"And then shawarma after," Tony agreed.

"Sooo, that's good and all that, but how should we get up there?" Ali asked, smiling contentedly as she crossed her arms.

"How about the elevator?" Tony suggested.

[]

"If it's all the same to you, I'll take that drink now," Loki said weakly as they all glared at him.

[]

They had Shawarma afterwards, with the owner and his wife cleaning up the rubble behind them. Ali wished they wouldn't – it was dusty enough without them sweeping, but the sandwiches were good. They ate in almost complete silence, each one of them exhausted and exerting their right to chew without thought. Ali kept twitching at odd moments as parts of her body rewired.

They all looked up as James Rhodes joined them, decked out in his War Machine suit. As introductions were made, Ali tried to lean on Thor's shoulder, missed when he leaned forward for his sandwich, and hit the floor.


	2. Captain America: Winter Soldier (2014)

**Captain America: The Winter Soldier / Agents of SHIELD 1.16,17 (2014)**

**New York-? (2012-2014)**

The Battle of New York threw a lot of things into perspective.

In Ali's old home on Earth 777, the Avengers took for granted many of the work that went into rebuilding civilization after mass destruction. Usually, they were too busy fixing (and making) messes, jumping from one crisis to the next, to help with reconstructing people's lives and homes. This time, however, Ali decided that it was time to take responsibility.

Steve left for Washington D.C., to work with the STRIKE team until he could find out what it really was that he wanted to do. Ali couldn't help but feel that her anxiety might get worse without a friendly face around, but decided that she would make new friends doing work that mattered.

Their farewell was heartfelt, as the two had become fast friends trying out new things in a new time, a new dimension. They did, however, assure each other that they would be reunited soon – a promise both hopeful and ominous. Following the Battle of New York, she spent her time between SHIELD work and getting the city back in working order. She went on SHIELD missions, trained, did volunteer construction work and worked at can drives, soup kitchens, temporary shelters for those whose houses had been destroyed.

There were mixed reactions from the masses – skepticism, rage, fawning adoration, gratefulness. Twice, she was attacked by bereaved men and women. Once, by a teenage girl who'd thought striking her across the face with a hot soup ladle would help. Other times, people would ask for autographs, signatures, hugs. Every time, Ali didn't quite remember making it back home, and she'd sit in the shower shivering and numb. The press ate it up, however, making her out to be anything from attention-seeking vigilante, controversial fashion icon, to selfless hero. When they started showing up outside her apartment, however, Ali decided it was time to move on.

She decided espionage was a good idea. While she had a pretty face, it wasn't so stunningly beautiful or abnormal to be memorable. Just in case, SHIELD sent her across the Atlantic to Southern France, to help with Sakuya's operation. Sakuya and her team were operating from a derelict stone farmhouse that housed an underground bunker, and working to bring to light a group of terrorists that were creating and smuggling weapons to all parts of the world.

"The Avenger," Sakuya said proudly as the two embraced for the first time in months.

"The Blue Crane," Ali said mischievously, knowing full well that Sakuya disliked her moniker.

"We call her gramps around here," a young woman piped up as she approached. She seemed genuinely unintimidating, thanks to her short height, round eyes, and slightly buck-toothed open smile. Ali decided not to underestimate her, however, as anyone who worked with Sakuya and could tease her openly to her face either had to be completely oblivious or infinitely powerful.

"Doreen Green," Sakuya introduced her. "Otherwise known as Squirrel Girl." Indeed, three squirrels were in her hair, jacket pocket, and shoulder.

"Hey!" Doreen protested. "I resent that! I go by Doreen, Dory, or the Supreme Overlord of Rodent Equivalents. I talk to squirrels."

"You," Ali repeated blankly, "talk to squirrels."

"They usually talk back, too," Doreen replied, unperturbed by Ali's reaction. "That's Chris Powel or Dawkhawk-," she said, pointing to a young man sitting some ways before them, "-and that's Silver-," she nodded at a white haired woman, "-and that's Jennifer Walters."

"Cool cool cool," Ali said quickly. "What do they all do?"

"Well, Chris has a magic amulet, Silver can disassemble you without you knowing it, and well, Jennifer-," Sakuya reeled off.

"-Is a lawyer," Jennifer said for herself, stepping forward with a hand extended. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Ms. Valenteri. If you ever need legal aid, please do call for me," she said pleasantly as they shook hands.

"Noted," Ali said with a grin. "I'm sure you've gotten all sorts of experience working with these guys."

"You have no idea," Jennifer sighed. "But it's work someone has to do. Plus, lawyers usually aren't outfitted with weaponry, but..." Jennifer shyly showed Ali her firearm. Ali knew she would fit right in.

And fit right in, she did. For two years, Ali stayed with the group, dubbed the Nightmare Guardians, following them all over Europe and Asia and helping them shut down terrorist activity wherever they went. They were in Lebanon when Ali got the news that Captain America and Black Widow had gone rogue.

She and Sakuya headed back to the US, promising to meet with up the rest of the Guardians afterwards.

[]

It was over the Atlantic that they noticed a foreign craft following them.

"Great," the SHIELD pilot muttered as he sped up in an attempt to throw off the potentially hostile craft.

"Think that has something to do with Steve?" Ali asked Sakuya under her breath.

"I think it means we have to suit up," Sakuya replied gravely.

Something thudded on the roof of the jet and heavy footsteps headed toward the back. Ali and Sakuya studied the ceiling with detached interest.

"Huh," Ali said lightly. "Think they'll try to kill us?"

"I'm not waiting to find out," Sakuya growled as she jumped out of her seat and headed to the back, grabbing two knives. Ali watched idly as the door opened in the back and a dark figure leapt in, throwing two SHIELD agents out into the thin air past him. Sakuya took one look at the attacker, aimed quickly, and threw her knives. They found their marks – one through the pilot's chair, one through the co-pilot's.

"What the hell?" Ali demanded, struggling out of her seatbelt.

"Stay down, Ali," Sakuya ordered firmly, walking past. Ali stared incredulously as the door shut behind Darkhawk, who waved idly.

"No, I will not _stay down_, Agent Inomata," Ali snapped, finally getting up. "What the hell is going on?"

"You heard Steve Rogers, Captain America had gone rogue and the first thought to cross your mind wasn't 'it's a trap'?" Sakuya snorted as she looked through the plane's coordinates.

"Of course I thought it was a trap!" Ali protested. "That's why we agreed to go in the first place, wasn't it?"

"Yeah, well, it's the biggest trap you've ever seen, is all," Chris said earnestly, as he typed something quickly into a keypad.

"These agents were all HYDRA," Sakuya said, and she was going to say more, when somebody shot at Ali, thrice. Instinctively, she blocked one, two shots. The third lodged itself two inches above her heart. While Darkhawk dispatched the last live HYDRA operative, Sakuya hurried over and inspected the wound.

"Clean shot – straight through the collar bone," she barked. "Chris! Get my bag!"

"N-not the medical-?" Ali asked, coughing up blood.

Chris tossed Sakuya the bag, and she rummaged through until she found a syringe.

"Oh no," Ali muttered, as Sakuya stabbed her in the arm with a familiar steroid serum.

Everything went black.

[]

When Ali awoke, they'd landed. They were before a secret facility hidden away in the hills, where Sakuya promised a couple friends were waiting.

"Where are you guys going from here?" she asked weakly. Silver, Doreen, and Jennifer were in the Nightmare Guardians' craft, while Sakuya and Chris were still in the Quinjet they'd hijacked.

"Those three are going to evacuate some SHIELD agents, while I," Sakuya promised darkly, "am going to get some answers."

Ali nodded somberly, remembering Grahame, who was now most certainly a small piece in a large picture.

"Stay safe," she said. "I'd hug you, but my bullet wounds are still sore."

Sakuya handed her a small bag full of cylindrical objects.

"I hope you don't need any of these," she said darkly.

* * *

**Unknown Facility, ?, US**

Ali grinned painfully when she noticed the boys coming in.

"Hey there, boys," she said, as her body repaired itself. She shivered and twitched at random intervals as her tissue was put back together, and Steve felt sick to his stomach. "Where's Nat, and who's this cutie?"

"Natasha's in surgery – nothing too serious. This is Sam Wilson. Sam, Alizeh Valenteri," Steve said, sitting beside her. She was breathing hard and sweating profusely. The healing steroids had done their job and were wearing off, leaving behind a mess of Ali.

"I know who she is," Sam assured Steve. "I'd ask you how you're doing, but I'm afraid you'll whisk me away in a tornado," he said, addressing Ali, who grimaced from pain.

"I'd shake your hand, but I'm afraid it would fall off from my sheer unhuman power," Ali grit out. "But yeah, I'm swell. So, what do you do?"

"Nothing as hardcore as you. I mean, I don't know if you're on drugs or if you're just made like that, but please, continue," Sam said reverently.

"Don't mind if I do," Ali gasped. "Tell me about yourself, Sam."

"I'm a bird – flew for the Air Force pararescue," he said, a bit smugly, "so a little bit like what you do."

"You're a bird? Not you flew a bird?" Ali asked, slightly confused.

"He's the bird," Steve said, with a small smile.

"Again, I don't do anything as hardcore as you, but they got me a suit, so that I do at least the whole flying thing," Sam explained.

"Huh. Good to have another man in the air, nonetheless," Ali said, finally wiping her hand on a cargo pant leg and extending it to shake.

"Ali, I found Bucky. He's the Winter Soldier," Steve said quietly. Ali convulsed violently and swore quietly, thrice. She only then found Steve's hand, and squeezed it tight, mostly for her benefit.

"I thought – in my dimension it was – someone else. I'm – Steve – I – what happened?" she whispered miserably, unable to say sorry for fear of breaking Steve or herself - it could go either way, actually. He told her. Ali held him close despite the grime and blood on both of them.

"What happened with you?" Steve asked, once the silence had gone on long enough.

"I was in Lebanon with Sakuya. They asked us to come back, to try to convince you to stand down. When the rest of our team realized it was a trap, they came and rescued us, but not before I got shot twice. Sakuya's gone to get answers about her past."

Steve nodded, smiling gently.

"It's like our pasts are out to haunt us."

* * *

**Above the Triskelion, Washington DC**

Ali flew like a madwoman, drawing HYDRA jets away from the boys. The original plan was that Steve, Sam, and she would take down a helicarrier each, but apparently she was an easy target for HYDRA. She grit her teeth as she did a sophisticated triple flip through the air she'd only half mastered during senior year cheerleading. It saved her life just then, and Ali whooped as two of the jets collided into each other.

"I'm on the third carrier," she gasped as the boys transferred the chips on the other two. Her knees buckled as she landed, but she managed to stay upright. However, she noticed someone was approaching her, with the assured steps of a man who could tear her lungs from her body without blinking. "And I've got an admirer – Steve, I think he's yours."

"Six minutes," Maria said calmly, as Ali dodged a punch to her head that would have reduced her brain to jelly.

"Sam! I need a ride," Steve yelled into his coms.

"Tell me when you're ready."

"I just did."

Ali listened idly by as she barely elongated her life second by second, her heart hammering away their voices. She was so preoccupied by Bucky's (they weren't properly acquainted yet, but Steve called him that) metal arm that she didn't see his flesh one coming. It seized her by the back of her neck and he kneed her in the stomach – once, twice, thrice. Her gunshot wound reopened, and he threw her off the craft as an afterthought.

"I had a big breakfast," she heard, clear as day, and would have smiled as she broke the water's surface if her muscles would just listen.

Ali woke once when the world blew up around her. She was floating on her back, admiring the pretty lights and such when she realized the air around her was getting quite hot.

"Shit shit shit," she swore as she pushed off into the air, and maneuvered through the falling debris. She was almost in the clear when something very much like a star-spangled shield hit her in the back of the head, and she went into the water again. She grabbed Steve's shield and made it to dry land, watching the destruction from afar. Her coms were dead, but it wasn't long before she went off in search of the others. She found them in a helicopter, somberly watching the helicarriers fall into the river, and Ali invited herself in.

"Where's Steve?" she asked over the roar of the craft.

"We don't know!" Sam yelled back, his face starting to bloom black and blue.

After stealing Sam's coms, Ali set back off into the air to search for Steve. Perhaps an hour or two later she found him dumped on the riverbank, dragged halfway out of the water. He was on his stomach, probably to prevent choking, and footprints led away from the river into the woods. Ali checked Steve's vitals, called him in, and stayed with him till the helicopter came.

* * *

**Undisclosed Hospital, Washington DC**

She awoke in a hospital room with someone reading in the seat next to her.

"Ave Maria," she sang, and wished her voice wasn't so hoarse. She cleared it, and her next attempt was more successful.

"I heard you the first time," Maria said briskly, but she didn't sound irritated.

"Thanks for coming," Ali replied. "Is everyone else alive?"

"You mean Steve, Sam, and Natasha? They're all alright – Steve's in the next room."

"What about the big guy? Did the son of a bitch go and die again?" Ali asked, almost worried.

"Never," Maria said, with finality. Ali grinned.

"You haven't had word from Sakuya, have you?" she asked, after a moment's thought. Maria put her book down and straightened in her armchair.

"She's alright," she said gravely, slowly. Something was wrong. Maybe Sakuya was brainwashed again. "Victoria Hand is dead, and the Winter Soldier escaped."

Ali swore foully, grimacing as she sat up. "Steve was already out of the water when I got to him. There were footprints on the bank. He'll want to find him," she said. "Maybe Nick could get off his ass one last time, since he's retired and all."

"I'll see what I can do. In the meantime, your priority should be to get better as soon as possible," Maria said reproachfully, as Ali leaned painfully against her headboard. Maria checked her coms. "I have to go. We'll see each other soon, I promise."

"Hopefully for brunch and not because the world is ending."

"That's something I can't promise," Maria said, but she was smiling. "But we can work on that, too."

[]

It took Ali all of three minutes to get out from under the covers. The first thing she did was scare an old man in the room to her right, and then spend thirty minutes lying uncomfortably on a short bench outside of Steve's room because she couldn't muster the strength to get up again. There were guards placed outside her and Steve's rooms. She declined assistance several times. Sam Wilson found her there.

Ali grinned painfully. "Hey there, handsome."

"Hey," he replied, frowning down at her. "What," he asked emphatically, "are you doing there?"

"Guarding Steve," she panted, exhausted. "What else?" Sam looked to the two actual guards doing their jobs, and chose not to comment.

"Here, c'mon, let me help you," he said instead, and rolled over a cot for her to hang out on.

"So," said Ali conversationally, once they were settled and staring at Steve's unconscious face got boring. "How long has it been, since, you know?" She made blowing up sounds.

"Two days," Sam said, with a chuckle, "and let me tell you – the world has gone to shit."

He didn't have to tell her.

Sam turned on some music. Ali dozed.

Ali had fallen asleep when Steve awoke.

"On your left," he said softly, and Sam looked up and grinned. He then craned his eyes to look at the slumped over figure on the cot next to Sam and frowned. "Is that Ali?"

"It is," Sam said, and his eyebrows nodded expressively. Ali awoke.

"Don't look at me – I'll blind you with my beauty," she rasped as she rolled over onto her side.

"I can imagine," Steve said, with a smile on his voice.

* * *

Ali stayed at Steve's place for the next couple days, while they helped each other get better. Steve was very fondly reminded of Ali's cooking; Ali, not so fondly of Steve's. Steve, in turn, was not fond of Ali's nightmaring, more for her sake than his. He found that they had not gotten any better, but rather her training in espionage helped to suppress some of her more vocal cues. She would break out into a cold sweat and an expression of pure terror would bloom on her face. He would shake her awake and keep her company as long as she needed, usually until the sun rose.

A couple days later, they, along with Sam, headed over to Nick's new grave.

"And you, Ali?" Nick asked. "You must want to visit Europe again."

"On vacation, you twat," she said pleasantly.

"Fair enough," he said with a grunt, and departed.

"Nat," Ali said urgently, when it was her turn to speak with her. "Good luck," she said, and threw her arms around the redhead's waist, squeezing her tight and lifting her straight off the ground. "I'll miss you," she said and set her down.

"You're probably thinking of someone else," Natasha said wryly.

"Your soul is the same across the dimensions," Ali promised, smiling.

"You know, I might miss you, too."

"I love you!" Ali called after her.

"I said might, Buffy. Might."

"You're going after him?" Sam asked Steve.

"You don't have to come with us," Steve reminded him.

"I know, but me stay behind while Tweetie bird gets to go with you?" he said, with a snort. "When do we start?"

Ali smiled. "Right now."


	3. Age of Ultron (2015)

Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015)

**East Europe**

After several months of searching for Bucky Barnes to no avail and several scrappy wounds – including damage to Sam's equipment, Steve turned his eyes to the rest of the HYDRA agents operating in Eastern Europe. In particular, to Dr. Strucker, one of the heads of HYDRA who had been forced to stay in the shadows due to Steve and the gang foiling their plans. The trio returned to the US. Steve made plans to gather all the Avengers and form a plan to take Strucker down, Sam departed to get his wings patched up and get a secret weapon, and Ali was just tired.

"Next time I come around, I'll have something that'll make you obsolete," Sam promised, giving her a tight hug. His eyes were soft when he took her drawn face in, and she punched him fondly in the arm.

"Yeah? You gonna get a squirt gun or something?"

"Oh, you wish, Tweetie bird," he said.

"A _remote controlled_ squirt gun, huh?" Ali guessed, and kept a grin on her face as he left in case he looked back behind her.

Steve was called away to assemble the team and tell them of their findings in eastern Europe. Though he suggested that Ali accompany him, she decided to head out on her own. Months in Slovakia, Sokovia, and Romania had been testing at best, and she was drained and frustrated. After all that had happened with SHIELD and HYDRA, she felt that the world had changed for the worse, and that she wasn't doing quite enough simply chasing a ghost that had stayed lost for 70 years. Her loyalty to Steve and her inability to sit on her hands while human suffering was so prevalent were starting to make her life a hell.

Ali found herself in the Smithsonian, in the Captain America division, which would annoy Steve and cheer her up. She should have come with Sam. Maybe she'd bring him and Steve sometime. She browsed through the exhibition, listening to some interesting tidbit, reading another, when she came face to face with Bucky Barnes.

"Slippery bastard," she mumbled under her breath, frowning up at the black-and-white picture, enlarged and happy. She couldn't help but feel respect and sorry for him while she read through his facts. "Slippery bastard," she repeated, a bit louder, but unable to muster the anger. It didn't seem possible, but watching a video of Steve laughing with Bucky hurt more than it should.

Ali returned to the Avengers compound feeling tortured and hating herself every step of the way.

* * *

**Sokovia**

Having something to do made things a lot better.

Blasting HYDRA operatives? God, she could do that all day. She generally tried not to kill, but lately, she was just so far gone that she didn't look too hard before she shot.

"Wait a second," said Tony. "No one else is going to deal with the fact that Cap just said… 'language'?"

"I know," Steve said, sounding defeated. "It just slipped out."

"Motherfucker!" Ali screamed, as she dodged a shot to her forehead and took it instead in her temple. Steve's sigh was nearly inaudible, but she smiled anyway.

"Ali, I want you with us, in case there are more enhanced," Captain barked. She flew him in as Tony went about hacking into files and finding secret passageways.

"Motherfu-," Steve stopped himself. "Really, Ali?"

"I'm sorry," she apologized, in earnest, and he slapped a bandage on her brow.

The sound of impact and Steve grunting sounded in Ali's ear as she wandered the corridors for anything useful.

"We have a second enhanced in the field; female; do not engage," Steve ordered quickly.

"Why – what does she do?" Ali asked.

"She pushed me down the stairs with her mind," Steve replied, frustrated.

"On it," Ali replied, and set about searching for a pair of breathing lungs. She was knocked out of the air by a blur of blue and grey, and hit the ground with a resounding smack. "Ohhh," she groaned, "Motherhugger."

The pair of lungs disappeared before she hit the ground, and her search proved unfruitful.

[]

Back on the Quinjet, Ali recovered slowly but surely from her double concussion, and wished she had a beer. The boys up front were speaking about revels, and Steve sounded generally disinterested. Knowing that at least it would bring a small smile to his face, she sat up and screamed, "Whoo! Partay!" Tony shook his head and didn't bother looking her way, but Thor smiled as she flopped back onto the floor.

* * *

**Avengers Compound**

Ali watched through the window as the Iron Legion returned, beat up and looking worse for wear.

"Y'know, I should tell Tony to make an Iron Legion of me. I'm much more amiable and empathetic," she mused aloud to Steve. He smiled, and looked weirdly at her. "What, did I just say that aloud?" she asked, grinning a shit-eater. She turned to him, instantly serious. "Look at them – you said it yourself: Sokovia is at war. The Avengers need to do better."

"We can't do everything, Ali, and you know better than most that we can't just sit around doing press conferences every day, explaining all of the minutia of our comings and goings," Steve replied gravely.

"I know. Maybe we can hire Pepper to do it for us," Ali joked. Steve gave her a lazy smile that was almost not reproachful. "At the very least, I'd like a cleanup team, make actual jobs. Not like Stark Relief Foundation, but companies and NGOs working in collaboration with the Avengers, with us raising morale as well as saving the world."

"Did you have that?" he asked, his brow furrowing. "Back in your world?"

"Back in my old world, we had the people's trust," she said, and hesitated to continue. "And also their absolute fear." Steve's face was drawn. "It was just the way things were. I didn't realize that it could possibly be wrong – I did my best to help people against all hostiles, and sometimes hostiles would constitute former and future colleagues. The world was a mess – there were much more enhanced people about."

"Like the Inhumans," Steve suggested.

"Yes, and mutants, and many many more," she replied gravely. "But in our world their growth is happening _now_, and we have the power to influence it – for the better. Ease them into society, help them acclimate to it, help them to make it better. Teach people how to compromise and cooperate rather than fear and hate."

"We'll do all that we can, but you can't expect us to fix society. Sometimes, society has to realize that it needs fixing first," Steve replied, and they exited the elevator.

**Revelry**

"Hey, Tweetie bird," Sam greeted her, and they clasped hands together. "Don't you look fancy, decked out like that? You know, you're going to turn a lot of heads in something like that," he added teasingly. Ali shrugged. She'd felt self-conscious about her dress as it was – a silky, floor-length thing that made her look like a dark goddess, with a plunging neckline and no back to speak of.

"Maybe that's exactly what I want," she said silkily, but readjusted her dress uncomfortably. "Anyway, my suit is almost as tight so I probably won't asphyxiate, if you're worried that me dying in the middle of the room will ruin the party."

"Didn't even cross my mind," he assured her. "How was Sokovia?"

"It could have used a squirt gun," she said with a shit-eater.

"Oh, do I have a surprise for you later," he replied, with relish. "And I don't mean dark chocolate surprise."  
"O-kay, I am going to tattle on you to Steve now," Ali laughed.

"No need," he said, and introduced her to a lovely young woman whose name Ali instantly forgot. "It's our fourth date, and I wanted to make a really good impression," he said mildly as she walked away to get a drink. "I mean, an _Avengers party?_"

"Good luck with that dark chocolate surprise, then," Ali replied, laughing, and they fist bumped.

"Hey! Sam!" Steve said, materializing from behind, and the two had a manly one armed hug. "Ali," he said, turning to her, and looked surprised. "Wow, you look… nice."

"Oh yeah?" she asked, grinning a shit-eater. "That makes the four hours getting ready really worth it. I get a 'you look nice,' and threatened with 'dark chocolate surprise.'" Sam gave her a look like he meant to assassinate her later on. She smiled.

"I mean, I meant," Steve tried again, but Ali stepped forward smoothly, effectively cutting him off. She readjusted his shirt collar, smiling up at him the entire time. He was in a haze as she left for the bar, watching the lean muscles in her shoulders and back. Sam gave a long low whistle as she walked away.

"Tweetie is out to kill tonight," he said, giving Steve a meaningful look. Steve regained his voice.

"Dark chocolate surprise?"

[]

Ali stood behind the bar with Nat, pouring herself a row of tequila shots, because everyone, even Grandpa Frisbee, was drinking. That was only an excuse since she would have drunk anyway, but it was a convenient one. "Whoop," she said, gripping one of the shot glasses with her teeth to make room for a whole lime on the tray, and squeezed past Nat when Bruce appeared.

"You're drinking all that?" Steve asked, gently grabbing her by the arm. Ali stared wide-eyed at him, her brain frozen, and her front teeth aching from clenching onto the shot glass. She tossed her head back, drained it in one, and dropped the glass – all while maintaining eye contact. Steve caught the glass as it fell, and she smiled innocently at him.

"You can have that one."

He headed for the bar, shaking his head to clear it.

[]

Ali watched, half dozing as the boys tried to lift Mjolnir, tucked comfortably into Steve's side. She never really got drunk – she had too high a metabolism, but she was pleasantly buzzed, which was nice since she really liked her tequila. She sat upright, however, at the sharp sound of nails on blackboard. Steve stood up, making her fall back into the couch before she too jumped to her feet. The hairs on the nape of her neck stood straight up.

She was wide awake now.

"Go!" she shouted at Clint. "I'll cover you." She blasted at the Iron Legion bots, allowing Clint to slide to (relative) safety. When it was all over, she stood before Helen Cho, covering her with her fists balled up furiously. The buzz was still there – but now it was a horde of bees, and the noise was unbearable.

"I still persist that Tony should have made Alibots instead," she said to the Captain, when the cobbled robot was finally smashed by Thor.

[]

Ali listened as Tony and Steve squabbled, yet again, with the fate of the human race dangling in the mix. She had changed into a track suit, which was fortuitous, as she was curled up in a little human ball.

"Let me interject here, just for a second, because I understand both sides," she said, layering calm over her face to belie her anger. She unfurled, and stood up for more of an impact.

"I do understand," she insisted, to Tony's incredulous goatee. "Loki and the Chitauri army, the reemergence of HYDRA and the fall of SHIELD have shaken us all up, and now that we know what forces exist in the universe, we have to up our game to prepare for the worst. However, just using common sense here – the scepter was right in Loki's hand in New York, and had been bequeathed to him from some outer force that also allowed him the usage of the Chitauri armies. Hot or cold?" she asked Thor, who looked mildly confused at the saying.

"Correct," he said instead, with great confidence. Ali nodded, taking it in her stride.

"Now this scepter, and particularly the stone that powers it, are alien," she continued.

"Get to the point!" Tony interjected loudly.

"What I'm trying to say is," Ali grit out, her facsimile of calm dissolving, "you shouldn't have dabbled with an unknown sentience so completely dissimilar to human understanding-."

Tony began to retort rapidfire, but Ali talked over him.

"-A sentience which came with Loki, who might not have been the higher operating mind that entire debacle. I wasn't finished, ya dumdum," she spat, furious. She whirled on Thor. "Hot or cold, Thor?"

Silence seemed to ring in Ali's ears as her heartbeat filled the empty spaces.

"I do not know," Thor replied, ages later. "But it is possible. The scepter – I do not know where it is from. Perhaps it is as capable of controlling Asgardians as it is humans."

"And that's what we've just unleashed into the internet," Nat breathed.

Ali nodded gravely at the floor, exhaustion beating her temples, her anger spent. Fighting teammates was not one of her more favorable pastimes.

[]

"Could you… y'know," Ali said conversationally the next time she saw Steve, when they were suiting up.

"What?" Steve asked. There was a note of resignation behind his eyes, humor that had died in the past twenty-four hours. He probably had no idea what she was talking about. Ali wanted to put that spark back, make it a little easier to help clean up Tony's newest mess.

"Y'know. Mjolnir," she whispered, looking about conspiratorially. "I wanted to know if you genuinely couldn't hold it, or if you wanted to respect Thor's sensitive nature. I mean, did you see him jump when you grabbed it? I've never seen him so antsy."

Steve stared at her, as if she'd jumped out of the walls and sung happy birthday in Latin. And then, he laughed. It wasn't the great rolling laugh she'd wanted, but it was a genuinely happy little chuckle that put a bounce back in her step.

"I don't know, actually," Steve admitted. "Maybe I let go too soon to be certain. I'm definitely not up for the job of ruling some far off planet right about now. Keeping this one safe seems to be enough work as it is." His expression turned slightly sour, but it was lighter than when she'd first approached him.

"Amen to that," Ali said softly, and gently touched his arm.

* * *

**Warehouse outside Johannesburg**

Ali flew straight for Wanda Maximoff after she sent Steve flying, and attempted to suck the air out of her lungs. She'd probably temporarily incapacitate Maximoff. Probably. Maximoff, in turn, messed with something in Ali's chest (her heart, she guessed), and let go as she crumpled to the floor.

"The girl – she's-," she tried, but gasped when something bit into her mind.

[]

Ali was bathing in low evening sunlight on the cold ground, singing a Spanish lullaby she hadn't heard since she was 7. Steve had his head in her lap.

He wasn't breathing.

Someone stood over her. His face was hidden in darkness, but there was something eerily familiar about his silhouette. He reached for her.

[]

Ali screamed and screamed, until Thor picked her up and threw her over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes, at which point she shut up.

[]

Ali hid in the bathroom, because she could not face anyone just now, and she was sure that air density would plummet in the jet with her in this state. The bathroom walls were crumpling inward at weird places, but she ignored that. She wished she could fly off, but she couldn't as they were in stealth mode and she didn't have such a mode. Everyone could still hear her muffled sobbing, and she hated it – she was the weak one, she was the one who wasn't put together enough to keep her feelings in check, and that hurt her even more. She forced herself to eat more of her blanket, to muffle the sound.

[]

After meeting Laura and the children, Ali stormed out without even changing out of her suit. She took off and hovered before the house for just a moment.

"Wait!" Steve called, following after her. "Wait, Ali. We should at least stick together."

"Why?" she asked, unable to look at him. "Why, Steve?" she demanded, much more forcefully. When he couldn't give her an answer, she left anyway. She flew without end, over land and sea.

[]

Ali woke up at night, on the roof.

She was as exhausted as before her nap. She always found flying in her dreams more exhausting than in real life. She'd drooled sometime during her sleep, and she was still in her suit. It was a good thing it was heat regulating, for she would have caught a cold otherwise.

Tony was there to fetch her, and he was shaking her shoulder gently.

"C'mon, Sleeping Beauty. Let's get something solid in you. Y'know, I heard something funny, d'you wanna hear it?" he asked, talking as quickly as he knew how.

"Wha- what is it?" she asked, her voice sleepy. She took him by the hand and walked him through the air down to the ground, as if on invisible stairs.

"Well, that made me feel like a princess," he said, shaking his head to clear it. "And uh, did you call Nick Fury a twat?"

"He's in there?" she asked, rubbing her eyes and allowing him to walk her in.

* * *

**Seoul**

"Do you have eyes on Nat?" Clint repeated.

"I'm on it," Ali said, hastily undoing her seatbelt. The Maximoff girl had triggered all of her PTSD, but if Natalia – no, Natasha – either one – was taken hostage, she had to go after her.

"Get the package to Stark," Steve ordered again, ignoring her. Ali threw herself out the hangar, and made chase.

"Fucking hell, Steve," she said calmly into her coms, because she could. One of the Ultrons broke off and flew straight at her. With a frustrated roar, she blasted right through it. She couldn't hit the one holding Natasha, who hung limp and probably unconscious, in case she was dropped thousands of feet over the ground. More and more Ultrons joined the chase as they crossed the continent, and by the time Ali had summoned tornado and hurricane, Nat had disappeared.

* * *

**Avengers Compound**

She shot at Steve three times as she walked in, which he deflected with his shield. He emerged from behind and Ali knew from his expression that she had hurt him on a baser level, and knew that the forties had something to do with it. Thor resumed explaining the Infinity Stones while she dug around for a beer and her side stitched itself back together.

She was casually introduced to Vision.

After downing the beer, she reached for another, and then one after that. When she finally thought she was alone, she stripped to her underwear, and ground her teeth in frustration as the crisscrossing laser marks covering her body stitched themselves back together.

[]

"I'm sorry," Steve said from behind.

"You should be," she said, almost dispassionately.

"Are we talking about the same thing?" he asked, moving closer. His confusion infuriated her.

"No," she said, with finality. Then, "I'm sorry, too."

"It's alright," he said softly, and put a hand on her shoulder.

"No, it's not. It's selfish to make it about me, but you weren't upset because I shot at you – you're upset because someone else did it first," she replied bitingly. Her eyes were stormy as she rolled his hand pointedly off her shoulder. Steve's eyes followed her as she left to her room.

"I'd ask you to sit out of this one, but I can't," Steve called after her.

"I wouldn't miss it for the world," she said without turning around.

Pietro walked into the room coming the way Ali had just gone, his eyes lingering on her back. Seeing the look on Steve's face, he said quickly, "I didn't see anything."

* * *

**Sokovia**

Ali almost screamed when the Ultron bots popped up out of nowhere, and Clint, who was closest, chuckled at her expression.

"I see you, Barton," she said wryly as she began to blast Ultron bots out of the sky.

[]

"Ali, get as many people to safety as you can," Steve ordered.

"On it," she agreed, and caught as many people falling off the crumbling edges as she could. At first she moved them to the ground, but too quickly, they were too high up, and she brought them back to the floating island of death. She cried along with the Sokovians she dragged up there, and didn't fight them when they clawed at her face.

[]

Eventually, she'd garnered a following.

"I remember you," a robotic voice told her pleasantly.

"Aww, that's so sweet."

When she dropped them back to earth, they were compressed tin cans. Ali wasn't as fast as the Ultrons, but she was thankful to still be afloat, especially as the air got thinner. Soon, it got easier just to cause miniature vacuums, to suck them to her and compress them into little metal bowling balls she'd throw back at other robots.

[]

At the church, she took out her new throwing knives, and Wanda looked at her funny.

"What?" she said, panting. "I can't seem to catch my breath."

[]

"Stay still, stay still, stay still," she yelled while the Ultrons came at her in bulk, blasting them out of the sky as soon as they came for her. She couldn't make a tornado – she'd kill everyone. So she was forced to take them out one at a time, whipping their heads off, deflecting their paths so that they'd slam into each other, aiming at their joints and weak points with both blasts of wind and with her knives whenever they came close enough. It didn't help that they weren't organic, or she'd have crushed their lungs. But then again, had they been organic that might have been inhumane, she mused as she relieved a robot of its left leg.

"Stay still, stay still, stay still," she half-sighed when the Ultrons began to run. She got a running start, and was surprised when Steve boosted her into the air with his shield. She really couldn't catch her breath, and wished she could rain down thunder and lightning like Thor, or at least have a laser beam. The air was too thin – she couldn't breathe. She was barely afloat – the edges of her vision turned black as she fought the robots almost automatically. Her breaths came in quick shallow bursts of air that caught in her throat and dragged all the way down to her lungs.

Something in her – she didn't know what – _snapped_. Suddenly, Ali felt bigger, fuller, stronger. Her sense returned – her chest stopped burning – the air obeyed her on a molecular level, moving violently in paths only she could see. She dimly noticed that she was roaring, an animalistic sound so feral she wondered how her jaw stayed intact. Her vacuum became immense, and she sucked robots to her like a gigantic magnet. They crushed themselves.

She stopped breathing – she didn't need to.

[]

Suddenly, the city began to fall.

"Ali, you know the drill; Thor, on my mark," Tony called briskly, and Ali flew over the city, using her immense vacuum to keep it from falling too quickly. She moved aside for Thor, who was gathering power, and the city tilted accordingly. Thor struck the city with lightning and thunder, and the city broke into a million pieces. Still Ali kept sucking it to her, the falling debris, the rocks, the unbroken buildings. They all came to her, and she screamed at the heat – she was being entombed in rock, and she didn't know how to undo it.

"What's going on?" Clint asked. "Why's it doing that?" He could see from the helicarrier that at least a fifth of the city had gathered again into a globular mass.

"It's Ali," Tony replied urgently. "She's built some sort of vacuum."

"Ali, Ali – come in," Steve shouted into the coms.

Suddenly, the mass exploded into even finer pieces of debris. Tony couldn't locate her as he dodged rocks and scanned simultaneously. Thor burst out of the water with Ali thrown over his shoulder. She leaked water from her nostrils and stole his coms when he set her down.

"And you thought you were the princess, Tony," she said weakly, and fell asleep for the next week.

* * *

**Avengers Compound**

Before she woke up, Ali was dimly aware of three sets of lungs breathing in and out, and minute shifts in air movement, pressure and temperature.

"Mouth breather," she rasped, blinking heavy eyelids awake. Steve, Nat, and Sam were sitting in her room. Steve and Sam were reading quietly, but Nat was asleep with her mouth open.

"The things I do," she muttered, jerking awake.

Steve and Sam smiled at Ali, and Sam got her a drink of water.

"How you doing, Tweetie?" he asked, as Ali drained her drink. She set down her cup and sank into her pillows.

"I could drink a bottle of mouthwash," she said with a grin. She blinked, much more highly aware of the air shifting ceaselessly, and found all three sets of eyes on her. "I definitely feel different," she told them vaguely, and smiled. "It's not a bad feeling, to be honest."

"We had to periodically check your pulse, since we couldn't tell if you were breathing or not," Nat told her.

"You snored once in a while, which helped," Steve said, smiling.

Ali's stomach answered for her, speaking eloquently and in complete sentences.

"Yeah, that too," Sam agreed, and got up. "Let's get you something to eat."

* * *

"I will miss you, Tony," Steve said, smiling a secretive smile.

"Yeah? Well, it's time for me to tap out. Maybe I should take a page out of Barton's book and build Pepper a farm, hope nobody blows it up."

"The simple life," Steve was still smiling, but now his brows were furrowed.

"You'll get there one day," Tony said, nudging Steve.

"I don't know. Family. Stability. The guy who wanted all that went in the ice seventy-five years ago. I think someone else came out."

"Yeah? And what about Buffy?" Tony asked, serious for once.

"What about her?" he asked back.

"Talk to her for me, will you?" Tony said. "Ultron wanted humankind to evolve – boy, did she evolve."

"Oh, we have a lot more to talk about than just that," Steve assured him.

"Huh." Tony said. "You alright?"

Steve smiled. "I'm home."


	4. Some Respite (2015-16)

This chapter is in more of a drabble format, and more focused on relationships than events.

Hope you enjoy. :)

* * *

**Avengers Compound, Upstate New York (2015)**

**I Steve**

No matter how large the windows are in a building, once it reaches a certain size, there are little pockets of permanent twilight hidden away. It was fitting, almost, how Ali and Steve had their first serious conversation after Ultron in such a corner.

It was a week since Ali had woken up. She'd spent the last couple days testing her newest powers up in the stratosphere. Ali had returned to earth sporadically and at odd hours, often popping in at 2 in the morning for a large meal. Needless to say, she hadn't seen much of anyone, except for Vision, who came to observe her exercises. When she and Steve bumped into each other in the hallway, it felt like a collision, and Ali visibly jumped in surprise.

"Hey," Steve said, shifting the enormous water bottle in his arms awkwardly.

"Hi," Ali breathed, flushing red from embarrassment. "'S been a while."

"Yeah," Steve agreed, looking to his feet. "How's it been – you know, up in the sky."

"It's been going good, yeah. You?" Ali asked.

Nat appeared at the end of the hallway just then, muttered something quickly in Russian, and fled the other way.

"We're training hard here, too," Steve said.

"Good good," Ali said. "I'm done testing everything out, so I think I'll be able to help train some of them – they all have flight to some degree, so I should be of use. Just until I get my things in order."

"Are you going somewhere?" Steve asked, brows furrowing dangerously.

"Well," Ali said, teetering between honesty and silence. She opted toward honesty. Steve deserved that much, and it wasn't as if he wasn't going to find out anyway. She leaned against the wall, and he set down his water bottle.

"I thought I'd stay until they're all capable of working as a team, and until they have basic level fundamentals. After that, I'm going back to Sokovia," Ali explained, keeping her expression and voice carefully even.

"To help rebuild it?" he asked, now positively frowning.

"To help apologize for it," she corrected him gently. Steve checked her chest to see that it was still moving – he was pretty sure she only breathed out of habit now. She saw him looking. "What, like what you see?" she asked, giving him a weak grin.

"I like to see you breathing, if that's what you mean," he replied evenly, bringing his eyes back to her face. She was studying him, her features flinty.

"I'm sorry," she said evenly.

"We're not talking about the same thing," he guessed, tired.

"No, I don't think so," Ali agreed sadly, and chuckled resignedly. The flint fell away to flesh. "Steve – it's just – I've been up there for the past 53 hours 25 minutes. If that's all, I'd like to go to sleep." She pushed past him, toward her room.

"No, that's not all," Steve said at the last minute, and gently grasped at her fingers. "Please don't go."

"Yeah? Why not?" she asked, turning round. When he didn't respond, she pulled from his grasp and continued to walk.

"It wouldn't be the same without you," he called.

She didn't stop.

"We'd miss you."

She didn't stop.

"I would miss you."

She stopped. She turned around, and smiled.

"I'll miss you, too, Steve."

She closed her door softly, so as not to hurt his feelings.

* * *

**II Welcome**

"Make yourself at home," Ali said, with one hand extended out to the rest of the room. "I've gotten some clothes for you – gym clothes, pjs, etc. You also really seem to like red leather and black boots, so there are a couple of those as well. As for the décor, I got you this fluffy pillow, because I love it. If you need anything, feel free to steal from peoples' rooms, except from Natasha, because she will hunt you down and end you."

"Should I be worried about similar behavior from you?" Wanda asked, as she crossed the room to her new bed and picked up the fluffy grey pillow.

"Oh, don't worry about me. I have all of the fluffy things without stealing from you." She paused, sitting gently on the other side. "I do have a lot of 1940s memorabilia from Steve, though," she added with a grin.

"Which is why you're lucky I like you," Steve said wryly, appearing at the door, arms crossed. "Come on, Maximoff, Valenteri. Everyone's waiting down below."

Ali looked toward Wanda, a smile on her face. "We'll be right there."

* * *

**III The Human Experience**

For the first couple months, Ali stayed full time at the Avengers, helping train the newer Avengers. Whenever anyone was depressed, Steve lurked in doorways, but Ali was an active energizer. She cooked favorite meals, threw footballs, took people for flights into beautiful sunsets, and cried with (or sometimes, just in front of) them. It got to the point that Vision began to base extreme human emotion on his experiences with her.

**i Flapjack Day**

From Vision's desire to try family traditions, Flapjack day was born. Ali took it very seriously.

"SAM, BABY, TAKE YOUR DAMN PANCAKES ALREADY," Ali called, and he emerged at a jog. Wanda was already eating her flapjacks, Rhodey was just emerging from his room, and Vision observed from his seat beside Wanda. Nat finished her flapjacks with quick, clean bites. Ali refilled her plate from five feet away – her aim was impeccable.

"Sorry, I was-" Sam apologized, but she interrupted him.

"If even one of these go cold, I will be upset, and the oxygen levels inside the compound will plummet," Ali threatened lightly, before turning to Rhodey. "Chocolate chip or blueberry?" she asked brightly, and Sam took to his pancakes.

"Uh, which one comes with less blackmail?" Rhodey asked.

"Death," Ali suggested nonchalantly, wielding her spatula threateningly with a slightly manic look to her eyes. "You can have a mix of both, too, if you want."

"Chocolate," he said, before pointedly adding, "please."

"Sure thing," Ali chirped as she buttered the griddle. Steve handed her the bowl of batter as he passed by, and she watched as he poured himself coffee blacker than her soul.

"D'you go running this morning?" she asked, as he leaned back against the counter, noticing his still damp hair.

"Yeah. Could have used the company, though," he said, taking a sip, but Ali smiled knowingly.

"You're sweet. I know you like the alone time." She expertly flipped pancakes. "Plus, it's flapjack day."

After everyone else was fed and watered, Steve and Ali stood at the griddle, taking turns to keep an eye on the pancakes, and ate until they could not bear to stand anymore.

**ii Nonchalant**

Her relationship with Steve was just as great as ever – if anything, it seemed even better than usual. They took every opportunity to support each other and to have each other's backs. They tread carefully around unspoken matters, however, and long drawn silences would stretch languidly between them, uncomfortable and tenuous. They avoided each other on quiet mornings and at night, and Ali ate her lunches on the roof.

"Wanna talk about it?" Nat asked Ali one day, over beers. It had been another hard day of training, and the Avengers were gathering round for a small barbecue party to celebrate their progress.

"I have no idea what you're talking about." Ali never feigned nonchalance well when it came to Steve.

"I'll be here, if you need someone to talk to," was Nat's gentle reply. Ali leaned her head against her shoulder, and the two watched amused as Sam and Rhodey bickered over the sausages.

**iii Running**

When it came time to cheer Steve up, the two of them would run.

Steve ran very peculiarly – his back was much too straight for someone running half as fast. He'd run cathartically, and at full speed. Ali ran like a maniac. She was never much good at running, since anytime she wanted to move fast she'd simply fly. Running, therefore, was recreational for her. She yelled loudly and often, especially when he passed by too fast.

"On your left," Steve said as he passed someone by.

"ON YOUR LEFT!" Ali would whisper scream, a while later.

"On your left," Steve would say as he passed Ali by, and she would scream her frustration before he outran her again. He laughed as he went by. Sometimes, he tried to sneak up on her and surprise her, but that was a challenge when she could sense him breathing.

"So, I guess you're feeling better," Ali noted as they cruised. The sun was just rising in the distance. Steve suddenly picked up speed, leaving her behind. He ran backward for a bit, just within easy earshot.

"I'll let you know," he called, with a saucy grin, and shot off again.

Ali yelled while she chased him down.

She didn't chase him down too far, and she smiled while he could still see her.

**iv Dark Soul**

Ali took him to Starbucks once after jogging, as a treat.

"What do you want?" she asked.

"Coffee – blacker than my soul," he said, with a grin.

"He'll have a white vanilla mocha," Ali said for him. "And two shots of espresso for me."

"I actually like this," Steve said mildly as he sipped the mocha. Ali gagged on the espresso.

"I can't drink this," she coughed. "Trade?"

"Please," he agreed, and they switched drinks.

**v Sacred**

Ali still had nightmares, but her screams turned to murmurs, her thrashing into kicking and prodding. Many times, she nightmared of the vision Wanda had made her see in Johannesburg. When her nightmares got too bad, Steve would invade her room and hold her, maybe put on some music. He'd drag her out of bed, laughing, and they'd dance. Sometimes they'd dance goofy, sometimes they'd slow dance. Once they tried learning to swing dance via the internet, and ended up on the floor in a pile of limbs, laughing themselves silly. Sometimes they'd cuddle. Sometimes they'd talk through the night. Once, Ali told Steve what she nightmared about.

"I dream of Peter, some nights, of Grahame others. And," she said, swallowing thickly. "Sometimes I dream of you."

"Yeah?" Steve asked, concern creeping into his voice. "What is that like?"

"It's not something I thought up on my own, or something I went through," Ali explained slowly, looking at her hands move. "It was something Wanda showed me, outside Johannesburg. I was singing a lullaby. You were-you were hurt. Barnes was standing over us."

She couldn't bring herself to tell Steve that he was dead. That maybe Bucky might kill him.

"Well," Steve said, as slowly as she. "I'm just sorry that it's your nightmare and not mine. It shouldn't be your burden to worry about Bucky."

"Tell me about him," Ali prompted. Whenever Steve talked about Bucky in such a manner, she knew she could expect story time. "You speak so highly of him, and in the Smithsonian-."

"You saw?" Steve interrupted, but he was smiling shyly.

"I'm your greatest fan, Steve," Ali assured him. "Anyway, you two were smiling so broadly. I want to know what he was like."

Steve relayed story after story – how Bucky was the first of 4 children, how he was always getting into trouble by getting _them_ out of trouble, how he and Steve had first met as enemies on the school field, but then gotten to know each other and later become inseparable. He spoke of how Bucky had fought fight after fight for Steve, and how he knew he wanted to repay the favor. Joining the army was always part of that – it was never just Steve being hardheaded. He wanted to avenge his mother, relieve himself of his father's legacy, and for once, at least be of some help to Bucky's fight.

He spoke well into the morning, and Ali listened to every one of his stories.

In such fashion, Steve never allowed Ali to nightmare herself into a terror. Some things were sacred, no matter what, and nightmares trespassed well into that territory.

* * *

**IV Training**

**i Sam**

Ali worked closest with Sam and Wanda, because he flew like her and she was weird kind of like her. But first, she beat them up a lot.

"Ha!" she yelled as she blocked a strike from Sam. She countered with one of her own. He deflected it. Ali followed up ruthlessly, pushing him further back. She caught him with a kick to his hip. He managed to strike her shoulder. She rolled it back with the punch, but it wasn't enough to take the edge off the sting. Ali took three quick half steps back and came back with flying kicks. One caught Sam square in the chest, and he was pushed backwards. He caught the next one with both hands. She pushed off the ground and looped her other leg around his chest. He twisted her away, but he lost his footing enough to stumble.

Ali allowed him a moment to regain his composure, and he threw several punches her way. She dodged, and they swooshed harmlessly by. Once, he overextended, and she deflected his arm with a stinging blow. He swung away from her.

"Ah ah!" she warned sharply. "Getting in too far! Fix your target, and keep close enough to actually hit!"

After that, Sam was too close, crowding her out and tousling her around. Ali didn't move away, but just waited for an opportunity. One presented itself when he threw an over-confident punch which she didn't avoid until the last moment. Before he could move away or withdraw his arm, she caught it. There was a split second where their eyes locked – he a sheep and she a wolf. Using his momentum, she swung Sam over her back, and planted him hard into the floor. He lay on his back, winded and panting.

"Up, Sam!" Ali barked. When he didn't get up right away, a burst of air picked him up and forced him roughly to his feet. "C'mon, let's go again."

"Oh," Sam muttered, "you want the thunder, huh? I'll give you the thunder."

"Stop stalling, bird-boy," Ali drawled, and Sam ran toward her.

She dodged the first punch, deflected the next, and caught the kick that followed. She seized his leg and kicked out his other one, twisting him in the air and dropping him hard.

"I liked fighting with Natasha better," Sam muttered as Ali helped him back up.

"Nat? Do you know how incredibly inefficient it is to fight like that if you're not Nat or Steve? Her entire body is a freaking weapon. I learned from her, and for three years I tried to throw myself around like that before I realized I was exhausted in fights all the time. You'll find your rhythm soon enough. Now, again."

* * *

**ii Wanda**

Wanda didn't have even half of Sam's fighting skills.

"Up, Wanda," Ali barked, pacing in front of the brunette.

"Why do I need to learn this anyway?" Wanda asked, her deep eyes showing her frustration. She did not move to get up, and Ali sighed at her stubbornness.

"Up," she repeated, "Wanda."

Wanda got up. She charged Ali, punching and kicking as ferociously as she could, but Ali dodged or deflected them all. Finally, Ali shoved Wanda back and kicked her leg out from under her. Wanda fell hard, where she sat seething for a while.

"Up, Wanda," Ali barked again. Red light showed in her eyes, and Ali felt herself being lifted off her feet. Her instincts told her to fly away, to fight free, but she let herself be slammed down onto the floor. This time, Wanda stood over her.

"Up, Ali," she muttered, and Ali grinned.

"Sorry about that," Wanda said once the session was over, and the two of them sat on the floor chugging water.

"It's fine – you were frustrated, and I was pushing you hard," Ali replied, with a smile. "Anyway, you show promise, but only if you work at it."

"Of course." Wanda sipped from her bottle and dumped the rest of the contents over her head. Ali laughed. "Why didn't you just fly away?" she asked as they made their way up the stairs.

"I thought it'd be more satisfying for you if I didn't," Ali admitted. "Let's go get something to eat, Winnie." She paused frowning. "Sorry – force of habit."

"There was a Wanda Maximoff in …where you came from?" she asked as they trudged up the stairs. Ali grinned.

"She was my friend and could serve my ass to me quartered and diced on a silver fucking platter."

* * *

**V Ass Whoopings**

Ali also fought Nat and Steve from time to time, just to keep herself on edge.

"Come on, then," Ali called, finishing her stretches with a forward split. Sam cringed as he passed by, and Ali swatted at him.

"Just remember later that you were the one who called _me_ over," Nat said with a sly smile as she walked over. She tossed aside her towel, and Ali got up, languidly, leisurely.

Ali was off in a flash. She struck at Nat – once, twice, thrice. Nat managed to block all of them, and jumped to avoid Ali's sweeping kick. Taking advantage of the strategic placing of her knee to Ali's head, Nat kicked up, but Ali quickly flipped away to safety. The two stood eyeing each other and breathing in a very controlled manner. Ali noticed that the entire room was very quiet, and even Steve had popped in to watch.

Natasha was on her in a moment. Ali dodged and deflected the strikes. Nat seized her arm to twist it backward. Ali moved with it, and used the momentum of her flips to slam Nat onto her back. Nat flipped out and away, kicked up at Ali once, twice. Ali was forced back, and the two watched each other from a safe distance apart.

This time the two ran toward each other at the same time. Ali could not think – she simply reacted. The two flipped and twisted around each other, sometimes managing to hit each other, but always returning what they received. Ali sustained a kick to the outside of her thigh and an elbow in the face. She responded by slamming Nat onto the floor as hard as she could. Nat rolled out from under her before she could do any more damage, and elbowed her in the back. Ali seized Natasha's shoulder and propelled herself out of the way, knocking her off balance. Nat swept her leg under Ali. She landed hard. Nat collapsed beside her, panting and with a sheen of sweat all over, but looking none the worse for wear.

Finally, she helped Ali up. There was a smattering of applause as they left.

* * *

**VI Tony**

Tony visited sometimes. She wasn't exactly sure why, but he did.

"Christ Almighty!" Ali swore when she saw someone emerge from the shadows. Tony wore a strange look on his face, like he couldn't decide whether to be offended or amused. He was holding an empty mug, and headed straight toward the coffee machine.

"You sure about that?"

"Jesus, Tony. You look like hell!" Ali murmured, smoothing back her hair with one hand.

"A lot of religious references. Presbyterian?" Tony asked, quick as ever. "Lutheran? Catholic? You know – I don't actually know or care why there are so many of them."

"How long have you been up, man?" Ali asked, trying to keep the disapproval from her voice.

"About 78 hours, give or take a day," he replied, the bags under his eyes smiling with him.

"Doing what, exactly?" Ali asked, taking a sip of her cocoa.

"You don't speak the language," Tony replied. His eyebrows were patronizing.

"All right, then. Keep your secrets," Ali huffed, with a raised brow.

"What about you, Buffy? What are you still doing up?" Tony asked as he got his coffee, and promptly made himself another one.

"I like watching the sun rise," Ali replied lightly. "And for your information, I'm not completely braindead. I was going to study biology way back when, so I know _some_ science."

"I speak robotic mechanics. What happened?" Tony asked, downing his first coffee in one.

"Let's see… My mother was killed, the perps temporarily took over the world, and the Avengers went into hiding," Ali reeled off, ticking them off on her fingers. Her cocoa floated docilely beside her.

"Huh. And your mother, she was also… gifted?" Tony asked, brows knitted. Ali was watching his mustache move, sleep caked on her eyelids, before she responded.

"Yeah. She had hydrokinesis rather than aerokinesis. She never used her powers for anything as grandiose as crime fighting, though. She mostly just watered her plants. She was a florist," Ali explained, with a dreamy smile on her face. "But watching her swim and move in the water – I wanted so badly to be a marine biologist when I was younger. Or a dolphin."

"Yeah? Not an ornithologist?" Tony asked, sipping his second coffee, leaning comfortably against the counter.

"You'd think I'd be into birds, but I don't fly like them, I don't move like them, and I've always loved how fluid marine mammals move. Have you seen a killer whale pod on the move? It's breathtaking," she said, and slurped at her drink, leaving a chocolate mustache over her lip. The sun began to peek into the room through the open window, and they watched the sunrise together in silence.

"Well, maybe you could help me," Tony said, as he finished his second coffee. "I could take more cues from organic lifeforms, I suppose."

He made himself a third coffee.

* * *

**VII More Training**

**i Sam**

Eventually, they got to more advanced training.

"So," Ali said, smiling beatifically, "Steve and I built an obstacle course for you."

Sam looked skeptical behind his sunglasses.

"Yeah? Is it invisible?" he asked, motioning around the lawn and empty sky.

"Well, yes," Ali said slowly, "and no." She slowly grinned a shit-eater. "It's me." Immediately, she blasted air at Sam's feet, and he shot off the ground. Ali flew up after him, shooting mostly random blasts at him, particularly at his torso and wings. Sam was on his back in two minutes flat.

"You guys couldn't just get me a simulation system like you do for everyone else?" Sam asked weakly.

"Where's the fun in that? Anyway, this is much more cost-effective, and we get to do it in the sunlight," Ali argued, giving him a hand up. "Also, we get to bond."

"Bond, my ass, Tweetie. You just like beating me up, don't you?" Sam asked, stretching out his shoulder. Ali grinned despite herself. She liked it when he called her Tweetie.

"I'll give you a 15 second headstart this time, Big Bird."

**ii Wanda**

"You can use your noggin to do a lot of things – move things, pull, push, crumple – whatever," Ali started. "But you can also protect things."

"And you think this because of… Winnie?" Wanda asked, watching Ali pace.

"Yeah, but also because you probably can," she replied. "If it so happens that you can't, well, just think of this as payback for giving me a bad dream."

Protecting herself proved easy. Wanda, when faced with potential harm, almost instinctively protected herself from harm. It was more of a subconscious action than a deliberate one, and this gave the two hope. Protecting others was a little bit harder, especially when she herself was distracted – two external forces were almost impossible to protect against. Protecting objects was nigh on impossible.

"Well," Ali said hopefully, "we've got until the next apocalyptic invasion, so let's practice, shall we?"

* * *

**VIII Self Development**

Lastly, Ali worked on her own skills.

Her usage of air pressure, which was once random and base, now had finesse and reason behind it, and she could fine-tune vacuums as she wished. The next thing she wanted to develop, however, was efficient air usage. She wanted to be able to not only use blasts of air, which was like a permanent marker, but concentrated blasts of air, like a fine-tip Sharpie. She went to bed less and less and people would find her more often sprawled unconscious in random places all about the compound – the roof, the lawn, the training rooms, anywhere she could break into. One memorable day, Tony found her in the boiler room and booted her out.

She made bullets and blades of air.

It was a good day when she finally returned to bed.

* * *

**IX Sokovia**

After the first initial months, the Avengers team focused more heavily on teamwork, and Steve would take point on that. Natasha was relentless in drilling them with field protocol, particularly Vision and Wanda, who were not military trained. Ali found that much of her work there was done.

She turned her sights outward, and for the first time since she'd come through the wormhole, Ali went public. She organized fundraisers, galas, awareness campaigns, volunteer programs – many in cooperation with Stark Industries and particularly with Pepper. She went on TV, talk shows, news programs – wherever she would have the most reach without being involved too heavily in Hollywood stardom. SHIELD got her a publicist. She was soon famous for lingering at memorials – in New York, in DC, in Johannesburg, in Sokovia. Her goal was to reach the people, to humanize the enhanced, to bring peace and understanding. Sometimes it worked. Often it didn't. Ali was soon both popular and controversial.

When she'd gathered enough momentum, Ali went to Sokovia to help with sustainable housing, food relief, utility relief, and sustainable infrastructure. She bought a teeny flat to stay in for longer stays, so small that her knees touched the wall in the bathroom. She'd go completely off the grid at times like this, and soon her visits home decreased from a couple days a week to a couple hours a fortnight.

* * *

**X Steve**

"I told you I'd miss you," Steve said wryly as she raided the fridge.

"Hey, you're up," she greeted him tentatively from inside the fridge.

"Don't I at least get a hug hello?" he asked, crossing his arms. She straightened slowly, peeked out from behind the door with her cheeks filled with cold lasagna, and blew him a kiss. Even Steve had to chuckle at that. She swallowed with some difficulty and gave him a proper hug.

"How long are you staying this time?" Steve asked drily.

"I'm taking the first flight out," she said apologetically.

"Yeah? When's that?"

"As soon as I wake up, actually," she muttered. "No later than 8."

He sighed, dropping his chin, but he was smiling when he looked at her. "We've got about 6 hours, then, before you go away for another two months. How about a run?"

Ali grinned a shit eating grin.

"Oh, you're on like Donkey Kong," she agreed.


	5. Captain America: Civil War (2016)

[] simply symbolizes a break, for better reading. Ive just done the same with the other chapters, too, so hope that helps.

Hope y'all enjoy. :)

* * *

Captain America: Civil War (2016)

**Sokovia **

"Hi," Inomata Sakuya greeted Ali casually as she stepped cautiously through her front door, holding up a plastic knife she'd found in her coat pocket as a last means of self-defense. Sakuya looked quite at home on Ali's one chair, and gave her a smug wave. "Looks like you're keeping busy."

"Sakuya," Ali greeted her, putting away the plastic knife quickly.

"What were you going to do with that?" Sakuya asked mildly

"I don't know – stab you or cut you a piece of rotisserie chicken, depending on the situation, I guess. Would you like some chicken? I've got some left over," Ali said, peeking into her fridge.

"I'm good," Sakuya called as Ali got herself some cold leftovers for dinner.

"You gonna tell me why you're here?" she asked as she fetched her suitcase to sit on.

"Our mutual friend sent me," Sakuya said cryptically, shrugging.

"Yeah? Which one?" Ali asked. Fury was also in Europe, far as she knew.

"Jesus," Sakuya supplied helpfully. Ali laughed mirthlessly.

"He's not_ that_ great. So you're back working for whatever's left of SHIELD?" she asked.

"Nah – I just owed Nick a favor. I'm with Silver and Chris trying to bag someone. He's a friend of Steve's, actually," Sakuya said darkly.

"No," Ali breathed, getting up. "Where? What has he been doing?"

"Can't tell you the specifics, but it's not too far from here. As to what he's been doing," Sakuya said, sounding unimpressed. "The past couple days we've followed him, he's bought a lot of seasonal fruit and vegetables."

"God. Have you told Steve?" Ali breathed.

"No – it's not a good time. I thought you'd also like to know that Steve's operations blew up in Lagos – literally," Sakuya said gravely. She handed Ali a tablet showing the specifics. "There's a global wave of backlash to the incident, including here. In fact, many Sokovians are uneasy with you in the country, and some of them are calling for your expulsion from the state."

"I'm not worried for Cap – he can take care of his own problems," Ali said nonchalantly, and she almost believed herself. "Those are the extremists?"

"Aaand some are calling for your immediate arrest and detainment," Sakuya finished. Ali breathed hard out her nose. Sakuya studied her as Ali looked through the information on the tablet, watching the building in Lagos blow up over and over again. "What are you going to do?" Sakuya finally asked.

"I'm not going to get to eat dinner, for one. As to everything else, I don't – what do you want with Barnes, anyway?" Ali asked, handing the tablet back. "He's been in hiding these past, what, 3 years?"

"It's bad, Ali. Criminal activity is shifting. Someone's looking for him," Sakuya explained darkly. "I could really use your help on this – neither Doreen nor Jennifer want anything to do with this case, and I don't want to send him fleeing into the wrong hands. I also really don't want Steve to know – can you imagine what he'd do if he got a hold of me?"

Ali rubbed her face with tired hands.

"I can't go behind Steve's back like that. Anyway, what Steve needs is a friendly face, not another basket case to take care of," Ali said to her palms. "I'll go back to the states."

"Alright," Sakuya conceded with a shrug. "By the way, I'm getting your volunteers out as we speak."

Ali stopped to look at her, and a smile slowly spread across her face.

"You sly sly fox," she said, both victoriously and accusingly. "You kept me in the dark long enough to evacuate my volunteers – in case they'd be targeted if I left the country too fast!"

"Are you mad?" Sakuya asked, grinning, as they left the apartment.

"Do I look mad?" Ali laughed, and gave Sakuya the hug she'd promised the last time they met.

* * *

**Avengers Compound, Upstate New York**

Ali arrived at night, on the roof, and flew straight into the compound.

"Honey, I'm home!" she called, walking into the dorms. The house was cold, quiet.

"Welcome home, Alizeh," Vision said, floating over to her. His cape rustled behind him as if touched by wind, but Ali knew for a fact that the air was stagnant. The whole compound seemed to be holding its breath.

"Where is everyone?" she asked, frowning

"They are in their rooms, except for the Captain," Vision said softly. "I'm afraid they have taken things a bit…"

"A bit realistically?" Ali supplied, with a hollow laugh. She threw her bag on the couch. "Don't move it – I'll get it later."

She found Steve in the gym. "Hey," she called softly. "I'm home."

"Don't come too close – I haven't washed in a while," Steve warned as she flew straight to him. There were a number of punching bags strewn out beside him.

"I'm sorry," Ali said, and hugged him anyway.

"You're cold," Steve noticed, sliding his hands down to her own.

"And you are," Ali said, "very warm. Come on, let's get you washed up and into bed."

[]

Ali checked in on Sam and Wanda while Steve washed up. Nat was nowhere to be found, and Vision was patrolling the grounds restlessly.

Ali sensed Sam sleeping fitfully through his bedroom door, and decided not to disturb him. Wanda was lying awake in bed, but she acted asleep when Ali entered. She sat on Wanda's bed for a moment, her hand on Wanda's shoulder, before she tucked her in and left.

Afterwards, she found Steve drying his hair in his room and took over for him. Having control over the air meant that she gave the best blow dries, and his hair was fluffy in moments. They exchanged meaningless small talk for a while before, suddenly he was overcome by weariness. Ali tucked him under the covers and saw herself out.

She had felt needed in Sokovia, as her work affected many families for the better, but it was so much more personal with the Avengers. They didn't only need her, he wanted her there. A bittersweet warmth filled her heart, but it quickly deflated. Who was she kidding? She should have gone with Sakuya to grab Barnes before anyone got into danger. And now she had no way to contact Sakuya to tell her she'd changed her mind.

She fell fitfully asleep in the chair next to her own cold bed.

[]

"Nat," Ali called hoarsely, screwing her eyes even at the low light. She'd dreamt that she was burnt at the stake, surrounded by not Sokovians, but by a contingent of Steves. She'd woken screaming, but somehow managed not to upset anyone. Or maybe they all were lying awake in bed, listening.

"Want some?" Natasha asked, holding up a glass of wine. She was eating ham and cheese with her fingers.

"Nat, it's four in the morning," Ali all but whined, throwing herself face first on the couch opposite Natasha.

"So why are you up?"

"You know why," Ali mumbled into a couch cushion.

"So do you," Natasha replied darkly. Ali did know.

"You look like you need a hug," she said, her eyes still puffy with sleep.

"No," Nat said firmly, but Ali ignored her and joined her on the armchair. Nat sighed when Ali took her wine glass away, sat on her lap, and hugged her. Ali then kissed her hard on the temple and squeezed her. Eventually, Nat hugged her back, before pushing her off. "Thanks," she said, taking her wine back and looking milder.

"No problem," Ali said, and grinned a shit eater. She threw herself back on the couch. "Wanna talk about it?" Natasha took so long to reply that Ali was half asleep when she finally did.

"How's Sokovia?" she asked. Ali was wide awake in a moment.

"Honestly? They're angry," she replied gravely. "And you know, I don't blame them. But I sure as hell don't blame us. Not Steve, not Wanda, and not you."

"Sam, then?" Nat asked, with a small smile, by process of elimination. Ali laughed. The sky lightened, and Natasha went to bed – at least to her room. Ali went to Steve's room, where he was tying his shoelaces to go out for his dawn run.

"You're cold," he guessed, seeing her expression. Ali smiled.

"Sorry," she whispered.

"You keep apologizing," he pointed out mildly, and pointed to her fluffy slippers. "You're not running in those, are you?"

[]

Ali made flapjacks that morning – piles on piles. She would be very frustrated if no one wanted breakfast, so everyone sat down without her even having to turn around. Even if they only pushed their pancakes around their plates, they respected family traditions, because they were a family. When she finally finished frying them up and turned around for her own breakfast, she found all five sets of eyes staring expectantly up at her. She almost cried, but turned back around, got herself some orange juice, and returned to the table composed.

"It's good to see you all," she said brightly, smiling widely.

"How's Sokovia?" Wanda asked morosely. Ali's smile faltered only a little.

[]

"When are you going back?" Steve asked, once everyone had braced themselves for the shitstorm that was bound to follow. They were in the gym, stretching. Nat was either beating Wanda up or they were making very loud mating calls.

"I'm not," Ali said simply. She went back to doing the splits.

"I'll hold you to that," he said solemnly, but he was smiling. She walked a couple feet away, then threw herself at him, wrapped her legs around his neck and torso and brought him crashing down onto the mat.

"You do that, Captain 'Murica," she agreed, grinning, as she got off him. He groaned, and she helped him up. They sparred to keep their mind off things. And they sparred to prepare for things.

[]

"You get a squirt gun this time?" Ali asked as she sparred Sam. They went at it for a couple blows.

"You get out of shape?" he retorted in a small lull.

"You wish," Ali panted, and flipped him onto his back. "I've been moving construction equipment with and without my powers like a pro. I'm ripped, Big Bi-."

Sam kicked her leg out from under her and Ali landed on her face.

"Like a pro, huh?" he said, getting up.

[]

It was a month before the shit that had hit the fan came back to hit them in the mug. Ali sat half-hidden behind Sam during Secretary of State Ross' presentation, chewing the inside of her cheek.

"You seem to be forgetting what we've done for those left behind," she said smiling, while the heat rose in her neck. She was certain there was a vein working in her temple.

"I won't argue the fact that your work to redress the situation has been a breath of relief for many of the victims, Ms. Valenteri, but I notice that you're sitting here with us, not in Sokovia, and that your volunteers were pulled out in a similarly rushed manner," Ross replied evenly. "The truth is that feelings are running high worldwide, and not without reason."

Ali went back to chewing her cheek.

[]

She watched Steve read the accords calmly, and the vein in her temple turned into a headache. She wished everyone would shut up.

"What about you, Ali?" Sam called aggressively when Natasha agreed with Tony. There was no Tweetie bird nonsense now.

"Oh, there's no question there," Tony said quickly, before she could reply. "Saint Valentine here has been calling for accountability for years now – she's the only one who's seen this coming."

"I wouldn't say that, or I would have been at Lagos, and that's on me," Ali said slowly. "And I see both sides of this – I trust our judgment. Well, mostly." She peeked at Tony, who cringed. "And we do our Goddamned best – I don't blame any of us." Her voice was hoarse with emotion as she looked from Steve to Wanda, her features locked in a fierce snarl. The snarl fell away, leaving tired pleading eyes.

"But only a month ago, Sokovians were ready to burn me at the stake. What happens when countries start picking fights with us – regimes, armies, and then civilians? Do we fight them, intimidate them? Force them to accept our 'help', because we decided that they need it? What happens when Enhanced are dehumanized and seen as destructive and demonic, because of the damage _we_ leave behind? At New York, we had SHIELD. Would it be so bad if the UN oversaw things now?"

Steve got a text during her speech.

"I have to go," he said gravely, and left.

Ali followed his exit with her eyes, and shut her jaw with an audible snap.

[]

For much of that day, Ali stayed in the living room to watch the sun move across the sky. She wished she would get up and escape Sam and Rhodey's fighting. Her immobilizing hopelessness kept her on her ass. Eventually, they left.

"Hey. I'm going to London tonight," Steve announced gravely. Ali was sitting in a ball with her head resting on her knees, alone in the living room. The sun was now beginning its descent, and shadows lengthened. Sakuya's plea for assistance and Bucky Barnes were on her mind.

"Yeah?" she said, and cleared her throat when it cracked from disuse. "Want to talk about it?" He stared at her bare toes.

"It's Peggy," he said at long last. "She went in her sleep."

He'd been crying. The emotion that roughened his voice shouldn't have bothered her, but it did. She remembered vividly a serene, surreal scene, back in the Retreat. Steve had just been out of the ice, Ali planted on new soil. The sun had been in the windows and set the curtains alight in gold. Steve had been going through several paper files, all of them with the name and face of someone he knew. All of them with a red stamp marked across, save one. He had not cried then, and Ali had not been as helpless as she was now. She didn't know what to say, so she got up to hug him instead. He bunched her shirt up in his hands and buried his face in her shoulder.

[]

"Steve," she'd called before he left, Bucky on her mind.

"Yeah?" he'd asked, turning around. His eyes were puffy and weary. Ali straightened his already military standard tie and jacket, and sent him on his way with a tired smile.

[]

Natasha found her sober and miserable, spread eagle on her bed.

"The Secretary thought it'd be better if you came with," she explained. Ali didn't look away from the ceiling.

"How is Steve?" she asked as she helped Ali up.

"Devastated," she said, her voice dead even to her ears. She laughed to make up for it. Nat did not laugh with her, and that fell short, too.

"Well, how are you?" Nat asked evenly, once Ali had stopped her horrible fake laugh.

"I don't know, Nat. I don't know."

Nat gave her a hug after her dragging her to her feet.

* * *

**London**

"Ross wanted me to come along, for the ratification. You're not coming."

He'd been crying. He didn't deny her words, but he didn't need to. She'd seen Nat head back to the jet, to give her a couple minutes alone. Ali daren't touch him, and she stood further away than she usually did. He closed the space between them, and they embraced. They pulled apart after a moment.

"No, Ali, I'm not coming," he agreed, and despite it all, he was smiling. She smiled back.

"You gonna be alright?" she asked, in a whisper.

"I'll be okay," he said, putting on another brave face.

"Where will you go?"

"I don't know, not back to the compound, that's for sure," he said, and his eyes flashed darkly.

"Well, pick a spot, and stay. I'll come find you. Promise?"

"Promise," he said. His eyes were mild.

"I'm gonna hold you to that," she echoed him, and he smiled. She left before the smile faded.

* * *

**Vienna**

Ali was stuffing herself with a granola bar, famished, when Natasha returned.

"You were talking with the king and crown prince of Wakanda?" she demanded in a hushed whisper as they moved to their seats. Natasha found her excitement funny.

"Want an introduction?"

[]

Ali was not so excited for the bombing. She threw herself out of her seat and blocked the bomb as much as she could, but she could not help King T'Chaka. She took the fumes and flames upwards and outwards, far away enough that it would do no damage. Even so, 70 were injured, 12 dead.

She should have been at Lagos, with the rest of the Avengers. With Steve.

When she returned from taking care of the explosion, there was a missed call from Steve.

"Ali." His voice was dry. "You all right?"

"Yeah – just, a bomb, threw it in the stratosphere," she said distractedly.

"I'm going to fix it," he informed her matter-of-factly.

"Steve, you promised-," she said, and her voice was animal. She stopped herself.

"I'm sorry, Ali. They're saying Bucky did it, and I can't stand aside and let him hurt more people," Steve replied. Ali chewed her lower lip to ribbons.

"I never told you this, I _should_ have told you this, but Sakuya found him, just before all – all this _shit_, and I should have gone with her, and I should have told you," she said, and her voice broke. She swallowed her breaths and quit breathing altogether. His silence pounded insistently on her ears. When she next spoke, she was pleading. "He wasn't hurting anyone. He bought fruit."

"Well, this wasn't him grocery shopping," Steve retorted, and Ali stopped breathing again. "I'm sorry, Ali," he said, sounding truly apologetic. "I'm going to have to go back on my promise."

"Steve-."

He hung up.

* * *

**New York**

Ross sent her to do PR work, which she did eagerly. She yearned to go after Steve and Sam, after Bucky, but she couldn't help them like that. Keeping the media and civilization from going into a frenzy, she could do that or at least try. She didn't try to humanize anyone this time – _that_ was dangerous. Ross wanted the media to emphasize the difference between those who had signed the accords and those who hadn't. They focused on her heroics, on her spontaneity, her fast response speed – the latter two being exactly what he was stripping away from her. She went to talk shows, again, and hated every moment of her fake smiling.

"So, tell me," Conan O'brien said emphatically, "what is it like – you see a giant bomb and _you decide to throw yourself at it?_ How does that count as a rational human decision?" Ali laughed, almost abashedly.

"Well, the thing is, it doesn't. I have a control over the air that others don't possess. I can feel things moving through it, especially if I focus. If Prince T'Challa hadn't warned the room, I could have died, same as anyone else. But since I knew what was coming, I could use low air pressure to vacuum the brunt of the explosion, and use air currents to throw that into the stratosphere. That doesn't make it any less terrifying, let me tell you. I have to fight my instincts every second of the way, but I try not to allow fear to be a backseat driver."

She might have been too serious, because both Conan and the audience were watching her with a quiet severity she had not intended.

"Also, I don't know if you've noticed, but, _I fly_." She added, grinning a shit-eater, waiting for it to sink in. Conan chuckled at her expression, and people whooped.

"Yes," he said solemnly. "I _have_ noticed, as has the rest of the world, and at least one alien army. Ladies and gentlemen – Alizeh Valenteri, also known as Tempest, as Saint Valentine – of _the Avengers!_"

* * *

**Berlin**

Ali went to Steve in the office where he was being kept.

"Give us a minute?" she asked Sharon Carter, who nodded and left. Ali looked Steve full in the face, trying too hard to not burst into tears and ending up glaring sternly at him.

"I wanted to apologize in person," she blurted out. "I shouldn't have kept him a secret. I thought… wrong."

Her voice broke and her eyes watered, but she kept her center. She couldn't tell him the reason she'd kept Barnes a secret was because she wanted Steve to need her just as much.

"You made a call, Ali," Steve said in an exhausted voice. "Who knows? Maybe it was the right one."

"You don't believe that," Ali said hoarsely.

"No, I don't," Steve said, and his matter-of-factness was cruel.

"I'm sorry. If I had told you-," she drew her lips in, and shook her head. Tony entered, striding purposefully toward Steve, and she headed to Sam instead.

"How are you?" she asked simply.

"They took Redwing," Sam said bitterly.

"You should have gotten the squirt gun," Ali sniffed, and a ghost of a smile appeared on Sam's lips.

"Buffy, we're leaving," Tony barked at her. Ali patted Sam's arm and followed. She couldn't look Steve in the face, though he watched her go.

"Steve didn't sign?" she asked, jogging to keep up.

"No," Tony said with a note of finality. "Why don't you talk to him, soften him up?"

Ali laughed mirthlessly, violently.

_"No,"_ she said, with finality. Tony harrumphed, but didn't ask more.

[]

The psych evaluation of Bucky Barnes began.

In a minute, the psych evaluation might as well have ended, as the power went out. Ali gently touched Natasha's arm as she exited the room.

"I'm getting eyes up in the air," she announced to the room at large, in case her acting autonomously would get her in trouble later. She noticed a helipad and landed there, hopeful and terrified that Bucky would come through that way to get to the helicopter.

She got her wish.

Ali shot air bullets at him, which he blocked with his metal arm as he came straight at her.

"Bucky?" she asked tentatively, when he aimed at her head. He didn't answer, so she used her hands to form air blades. He dodged or deflected most of them, but one cut his face. He slowed, looking pissed.

"Shit," she muttered, before he punched her in the gut with his metal arm, and she went flying. An unwelcome feeling of deja vu assaulted her, and pissed her off. She came back flying this time, determined to drive the air out of his lungs – literally. What she wasn't expecting was him to throw a fucking door at her. She crumpled like a beer can at a frat party, and everything went black.

* * *

**Leipzig/Halle Airport**

"Hi, I'm – I'm Spider Man," the kid said. Ali tried to ignore him.

"I cannot believe you," Ali said to Tony, instead. "I trusted you."

"Hey – you can work with Wanda. Didn't she blow up your dimension or something?" Tony asked impatiently.

"Yeah? Well, that's funny, because I don't see her suiting up with the rest of us, which is-," she shut her mouth and fumed silently. Nothing about the situation was funny. Peter said something weakly about coming back later. Tony's eyes were flinty.

"What? Say it, Valentine – say it."

"It's your fault. You shouldn't have done her like that," Ali sighed.

"You know, for people so different – you're sounding an awful lot like Steve."

"You say that as if it's a bad thing," Ali said in disbelief. "Look, Tony – Peter." Her throat constricted. "Peter was the only person that I could trust with all my heart and soul. He was the only one who 100 percent had my back, who got me. He was my best friend and I loved him – still do, matter of fact. This kid?" She was fuming now, and her hair was nebulous about her. "I trusted you, Tony."

"I didn't know," Tony said honestly. "And I'm sorry. You don't have to get along with him – just – just try not to asphyxiate him, please. He's kind of a newer model, and he's not one of mine."

She stormed out before she lost it.

[]

"Sorry kid," she said as she tied her hair up. "It's a rough-." She exhaled. "It's been a rough couple days. I'm Ali Valenteri." She extended a hand. He shook it.

"Spider Man. It's cool. You're friends with Captain America, right? This – this must be tough for you," he said, sounding nervous. His suit, his voice, his name, his being was different. But still Ali couldn't help but think about him as the same person – how she hadn't heard him that nervous since he was a minor. He _was_ a minor.

Ali laughed manically, and exited as quickly as possible.

* * *

"Sakuya, you came," Steve said in relief, as the two embraced. The last time they'd seen each other was before Sakuya had left to Europe as a special spy, in order to find out more about the hypnosis program HYDRA had implemented on her. That was in 2011.

"Hi there," Sakuya said, waving to Barnes in the car. She was still sporting a slowly healing rib from fighting him in the streets of Romania, but tried not to hold it against him.

"Looks like you're in another shitstorm. Never thought you'd be fighting the Avengers," she said as she held Steve at arm's length.

"Never thought you'd have to fight them, either," Steve pointed out.

"Yeah, well, if they're working for Ross," Sakuya said, and trailed off ominously.

* * *

"I'm not taking point on this one," Ali declared stubbornly. "Steve won't listen to me."

At the airport, Tony took point, and Ali sulked behind him. When it got to be too much, she interjected anyway.

"So, it's my fault. You can tell the UN that I let a brainwashed super assassin go, but in order to do that, you're gonna have to come with us," she all but pleaded. Steve wouldn't listen, he just stood there glaring into the sunlight.

"I can't, Ali – he didn't do it," he replied, and she sighed.

"Steve, wake up and smell the coffee," she yelled. "He just threw a door at me – yesterday. He also beat up everyone else who tried to stop him – namely, Nat and Tony, you know, _your friends_."

"You know him," Steve reminded her gravely. Ali stared at him, dumbstruck. It was a dream or a memory that came unbidden to her mind, one of stories late into the night. She did know Bucky Barnes, not Sargent Barnes, nor the Winter Soldier. Steve had introduced him to her, in a nighttime whisper.

"Okay, I'm running out of patience," Tony interjected, jarring Ali awake. "Underoos!"

"You've been busy," Steve told Tony with his hands bound, but he was looking at Ali, who sighed, shaking her head. She wished she could tell him it wasn't her.

[]

"Oh, great. Alright, there's three on the parking deck. One of them's Maximoff – I'm gonna grab her. There's someone I don't know – Ali?" Tony said quickly. "Rhodey, you want to take the Cap?" Ali took off after Tony.

"Got two in the terminal, Wilson and Barnes," Rhodey announced.

"Barnes is mine!" T'Challa shouted.

[]

"Well, isn't this a surprise," Ali said, actually surprised. "Sakuya." She landed on the platform.

"Ali." Sakuya was smiling.

"What are you doing here?"

"Getting your attention?" she said with a noncommittal shrug. A kettle of assorted black and white birds of prey flew out at Ali, screeching, from behind Sakuya, and Ali found herself fleeing for her life. They were a mass of inky lines and they didn't respond to her air bullets, and they didn't breathe. They only responded to complete annihilation, and that took a lot of energy.

"There's a new enhanced on the field – Sakuya Inomata. Her drawings come to life, but are somehow still inorganic. God – it's – they're magic ink," she reported, as more birds came at her.

[]

When faced with each other, Ali went straight for Wanda.

Ali shot bullets at her, forced her to keep her defenses up, while Wanda kept throwing trucks at her.

"Teenagers – you think maintaining a car like this comes cheap?" Ali asked, as she tucked in and landed right before Wanda.

"Cheaper than freedom," Wanda retorted.

"This isn't going to be like a training session," Ali replied as she blasted air at Wanda's hand. She deflected it, with relish, and sent a red beam straight at Ali.

"I'm counting on it."

They went at it, head to head – air against, well, red wisps. They paused, both tired, after a couple minutes of hard fighting.

"You'll still make me paprikash sometimes?" Wanda asked.

"What, that's more important than freedom?" Ali snorted, and they exchanged more blows.

[]

Sakuya wasn't a natural born flier, but she did have a nice set of wings when she needed them. At the moment she had a couple hundred that Ali had to continuously destroy.

"Fuck off, Sakuya!" Ali screamed, tearing into the inky creatures as she chased Sakuya down.

"I'm a little busy not plummeting to my death!" she yelled back, jumping from the back of a painted hawk to another, drawing them as she went. Sam collided into Ali out of her nowhere, and she was dropped into a horde of slashing falcons.

"Ali!" Sakuya yelled. She destroyed all her paintings save the one she was on, as Ali began to plummet, blood streaming from various wounds.

"Wilson!" Sakuya shouted.

Sam tucked in his wings and dived for her but Ali regained consciousness last moment. She flew straight up and barreled, snarling, into Sakuya's last hawk, wrenching it apart limb from limb. Sam grabbed her before she plummeted to the ground, and Ali blasted them out of the air when they were close enough to the ground.

"Stay down!" she yelled, furious and bleeding profusely.

[]

"Hi. Meet my almost ex-lover?" Ali asked mildly as she dropped in before Steve. They began fighting, almost by habit. Even using her powers, Steve knew all her ins and outs. Unfortunately for him, the same could be said of her.

"He's cute," he said just as lightly, taking her air bullets on the shield and getting close enough to swing it at her. She dodged, and stopped him with a hand to his chest, gentle, familiar. He breathed hard. She bled from multiple scratches.

"I didn't call him in," Ali said, and he believed her.

"It wasn't Bucky," Steve said instead.

"I don't care," she snarled. "If you leave now – Steve, if you leave now, we're over – the Avengers, all of us." She looked into his eyes, searching for the same man who'd promised to wait for her a couple days prior. She was disappointed. Her heart deflated.

"I'm sorry you feel that way," Steve said, truly apologetic. Ali put her hand to his neck, gently, and stole the air from his lungs. Her eyes were furious. It was with a heavy heart that Steve struck her in the temple with his shield. She didn't stop the first time, so he struck her again. Ali finally fell, heard his apology, and blacked out.

[]

Ali forced herself up after they'd knocked Scott Lang over, and headed for the Quinjet, furious, and fast for it. Once she got close enough, she'd destroy their craft – whip it straight out of the sky. But then Sakuya and Sam got on her tail. Even with Tony and Rhodey covering for her – Rhodey. She noticed too late that Rhodey was falling. She abandoned the chase and pulled at him, summoned air currents – used every trick she knew. She only barely cushioned his fall. He fell hard.

She gasped, and hurried over, even as Tony shot Sam in the chest.

"He's still breathing," she said, looking up at Tony.

"Let's keep it that way," he replied.

* * *

**New Avengers Compound **

"I need you on this," Thaddeus Ross said over the phone. Ali laughed angrily, fiercely.

"You want me to propagate that Captain America is a low down dirty criminal who should be put down?" she said, still laughing, but she was spitting fire. Her head was still ringing from where Steve had struck her twice with his vibranium _fucking_ shield. "You don't need me on this, but I can see why you'd _want_ me on it."

"You forget, Valenteri, that this is part of your job, too," Ross said exasperatedly.

"Oh no, Mr. Secretary, _sir_," she protested emphatically. "I signed on to save lives, not become your personal rumormonger."

"This is your last warning – resisting won't prove pretty for you."

Ali laughed, which upset her headache even further. "Yeah, well, none of my friends like you, y'know." She hung up.

"What, you're leaving, too?" Natasha asked mildly from the doorway.

"Come on. It was about time we went on a bonding road trip," Ali replied, with a smile.


	6. Road Trip (2016)

Chapter 6

**Road Trip, ?, US**

The first thing Nat and Ali did when they were on the road was get a half-decent sedan, some hair dye, and a couple haircuts. Nat dyed her hair blonde and cut it short, while Ali dyed hers mousy brown. She very much wanted to shave her head off like Eleven from Stranger Things, but Nat assured her it was a shitty idea, especially for someone going under.

"Make yourself as non-threatening and as mundane as possible," Nat instructed her, as she steered Ali away from the electric razors and ice-blue hair dye. "So that you blend into the crowd," she sighed as she pushed Ali away from the face piercing guy.

[]

The two drove from state to state, changing vehicles and identities periodically. Despite it all, they were still found out. Nat's KGB friends chased her down, and she left to take care of them on her own, despite all of Ali's arguments. It was soon brought to her attention that she, too, was being chased. She should have been more vigilant, but when the nice diner lady offered her more coffee, she didn't notice how sleepy it made her, and how the lady threw out the pot afterward.

[]

"This is where you're hiding out?" Silver asked as she shone a flashlight into Ali's newest run-down Sonata, which smelled of feet and/or cheese.

"Shit," Ali swore as she rubbed her eyes awake.

"Shit's right, princess," Silver said happily, opening the car door. Ali spilled bonelessly onto the ground.

"I thought we were friends," she yawned, pushing herself into a seated position. It took her a moment, but eventually she noticed that it wasn't the Nightmare Guardians with Silver, but the Wild Pack. They had her completely surrounded, and Ali counted them even as she stalled. Seven.

"Yeah, well," Silver said, shrugging and looking completely unremorseful. "I put family above friends."

"Only when you're put up to it. You're protecting someone," Ali guessed, searching the tough faces before her. She singled out a man with a military buzz cut and a chin that looked like it could use a goatee. While she was doing that, she tested out her air manipulation – nothing except the weakest of breezes. She couldn't kill a fly with her powers at the moment. Back to the stalling. "You were HYDRA," she said pleasantly.

He shot her in retribution – once, twice, thrice, four, five, six times in the stomach.

Ali fell against the Sonata, wide eyed, as Wild Pack turned against the man who'd shot her. She struggled to try and recognize him when it came to her – Carl Striklan, formerly of some HYDRA fart crew. Apparently, Ali was to be brought back dead or alive, and he'd deemed that it was safer to bring her back in a body bag. While they were fighting, Ali conjured up a weak breeze that pushed her bag of steroids to her. Making sure no one could see, she stabbed herself with two of them in the back of her neck. She groaned, keeping deathly still as the serum coursed through her blood, and the syringes were pushed out of her skin. Her wounds healed, pushing the very bullets out of her body and stitching up the flesh as quickly as it was torn open. When it ended, she was a broken sweating mess on the asphalt, and thirteen guns were on her. She sat straighter, clutching her stomach and groaning exaggeratedly.

"Sorry," she wheezed, putting her hands in the air. "I just don't take well to being shot six times." Her heart beating much too quickly in her chest, Ali chuckled softly.

"What's so funny," Carl demanded, and Silver gave him a harsh look.

"Ooh, infighting. Wouldn't be a family without some of that," Ali giggled. One of her eyes would not stop twitching, probably adding to the others' discomfort.

"Shut up, Valenteri. You're going to come with us – we'll get you some help later," Silver said, inching forward and blocking Carl's shot.

"What if I killed all of you?" Ali asked, still smiling, as she pointed finger guns at Silver. They all of them tensed and cocked their guns, though it might have seemed comical to an outsider. Ali imagined the scene – seven buff men and women, heavily armed, arranged in a half circle around an emaciated mousy brown girl, who had finger guns for weapons. Silver held up a hand for the Wild Pack to stand down.

"We drugged you to not be able to use your powers," she explained. "So come quietly, and I promise you won't die."

"Funny," Ali said, looking at her finger guns. "That's what I was going to say." She then shot Silver straight through the shoulder. As Silver fell forward, clutching her wound, Ali sprang forward and caught her, spinning her around with a finger to her throat.

"I wouldn't shoot if I were you," she said pleasantly, though she was woozy and she was pretty sure three of her six gunshot wounds had reopened. Her twitch eye was utterly unreliable. "I know how much family means to all of you."

"Shoot, you imbeciles!" Silver barked, but Ali applied pressure to her neck, and a thin line of blood appeared.

"Yeah, you imbeciles," she repeated, as pleasantly as before. She grabbed her backpack from the car. "Shoot."

Nobody, not even Carl, shot.

Ali jumped backward up onto the car with Silver in tow and threw her hostage at the Wild Pack. While they caught Silver, she flew haphazardly away, throwing the car at them, too. When she still heard voices, she shot the engine, blowing it up.

Who knew how long later, she crashed into an old warehouse and fell unconscious among the cardboard.

[]

When Ali awoke the next day, she expected herself to be healed. Usually, her steroid injections helped the process along, although it also drained a great deal of her energy and higher functions. It came to her as no surprise that she woke up late in the day.

It did surprise her that her injection wounds were puffing up, though she couldn't see them, and her veins stuck out from her skin, glowing purple and blue. Her gunshot wounds were caked with red puffy skin, as well, and Ali spent all of three minutes fever crying in frustration and pain.

[]

For ten days, Ali lay in that warehouse, healing just quickly enough not to die. When her seemingly endless supply of skittles ran out, she began to direct her will into the wind, in the hopes that someone would hear her. Also, by this time she was so delirious that she half-believed someone might be jotting her last will and testament down.

[]

When the hallucination of Nat arrived, she knew she was dying.

"Hi," Ali hoarsely greeted the apparition. "How you holding up?"

"Oh, not bad, considering," Nat replied nonchalantly. "Nice place."

"It's full of cardboard," Ali said incoherently. "I made friends with them."

"We-ell," Nat said, checking her vital signs and administering her water. Ali retched, and Nat rolled her onto her side. "I brought some other friends." She moved aside, and Steve's shoes came into view.

"Karma's a bitch," she said by means of greeting.

"Sure thing," Steve agreed, smoothing her forehead back, "but it'll be alright now."

"I brought something," she moaned. She thought she was nodding at her backpack, but actually she was just thinking it. Steve recognized it anyway, and picked it up, rifling through its contents. Ali fell unconscious as he looked toward her, his eyes conveying some complicated emotion.

"The only food she had were skittles, but she brought along a backpack full of notebooks?" Nat muttered under her breath. Steve motioned for her to take it with them, however, while he hefted Ali onto his shoulders.

**Wakanda**

"Hey, Buck," Steve said, exhaustedly. He still smiled – he always had a smile for Bucky.

"Hey," Bucky replied as he peered down at the broken figure on the platform in the room below. Shuri was operating on Ali, who looked very much like a corpse, and Steve's fists clenched and unclenched.

"This is for you," Steve said, handing Bucky a backpack without looking at him. Bucky looked through the contents, and recognition dawned on his face.

"How did…" he trailed off, amazed.

"I didn't," Steve said shortly, and nodded down at Ali.

"Hot damn," Bucky said under his breath, and the two watched the operation till the end.

[]

Ali woke up in a controlled, pristine facility, in a panic. She screamed – a bloodcurdling scream. She hadn't screamed like that since Grahame. She scrambled back on her cot and sat up. Her fingers were scrabbling at her face, drawing blood. She screamed again. A nurse came to calm her down, and immediately recoiled, clutching at her chest and gasping. A vacuum had formed around Ali, who began pulling everyone, including the nurse, toward her. A hand fished the nurse out of the air and helped her back into the hall, and there was Steve, taking controlled, measured steps toward Ali. Her eyes locked on him – he was familiar, but she couldn't place it. He took her hands, and the air stilled. The air pressure returned to normal. The room stopped curving toward her and bounced back to its original shape. Ali's hair settled around her face.

"What did you dream?" he asked, sadly.

"I was grounded," she said, voice hoarse. She tasted blood, and spat on the floor. Ali shuddered. "How long was I grounded?" she asked. "How long?!" she demanded, when the answer wasn't forthcoming.

"Ten days," Nat replied for Steve, appearing behind him. She gently mopped up the blood on Ali's face with a cloth.

"Lo, Tweetie bird," Sam said, sitting on her cot by her feet. Steve let go of her hands, which fell limply into her lap.

"I don't – I don't understand," Ali sobbed, feeling at her gunshot wounds. They'd healed almost completely, but her injection wounds were still sore and there were veins sticking out, pulsating gently.

"I need to talk to you," she said, her eyes locking on Steve. Nat and Sam left quickly and quietly. "I'm – I'm sorry. I was wrong. I was so wrong-," she said, but Steve motioned for her to scooch, so she did. He sat down and smiled at her.

"You already apologized," he said lightly. "When we found you. You told me, 'karma's a bitch.'"

"God, Steve – you just said a bad language word," Ali mumbled before she could stop herself. Only he could have understood her apology, though. "I'm still sorry. For Bucky, for trying to take you out via-."

"-Asphyxiation," Steve supplied, nodding. "I'm sorry, too." His finger ghosted over where he had struck her temple. There wasn't even a scar, but Ali shuddered. "And it turned out alright, Ali, considering – Bucky's had his brain rebooted, I'm fit as a fiddle, and we've got a mission waiting for us," he continued after a while.

"When are we leaving?" Ali asked.

"Oh no, you don't," Steve laughed. "You're staying right here." He regarded her with clear eyes for a moment, before leaning in and kissing her brow. "Get better – then we'll talk."

"I will, Steve," she promised, and squeezed his hand. He squeezed back, gently. "I will," she repeated, as she lay back down.

[]

With the only familiar faces in the world gone, Ali slept most of the days away. One day she woke up to someone speaking in a bizarre alien language. When she became more aware of her surroundings, she asked a nurse, who informed her that the speech was Xhosa, and she was still on planet Earth. Ali noticed that the nurse wore a cord around her waist, to drag her back to safety in case Ali ever tried to destroy the facilities again. Ali asked if it happened often. The nurse hesitantly replied that it only happened about once a day.

One day, the king of Wakanda himself appeared before her, just as she woke from a dream. Ali could almost just taste the granola.

"Miss Valenteri," he stated, quietly.

"King T'Challa, she murmured, blinking away sleep and trying to sit up straighter. The bombing in Vienna seemed like years ago.

"Welcome to Wakanda. I am sorry to see you so unwell," he said sympathetically.

"If I'm to understand correctly, without your timely treatment, I would be in a much sorrier state," Ali replied, smiling gently. "Thank you for your help."

"It is nothing," T'Challa replied graciously, waving her words away. "For the time being, however, I am afraid we will have to move you to somewhere safer. Shuri?"

A young woman – a teenager, by the looks of it – stepped forward, smiling gently.

"Princess," Ali greeted dazedly.

"Welcome," Shuri replied. "I have mostly counteracted the effects of the steroid serum, but it will take time for your body to readjust to the sudden changes. Also, your nightmares – we could try to treat them, if you would permit us to, but that also takes time."

"I would like that."

[]

Cryo was not something she was expecting, but she went under with the hopes of feeling rested for once.

She was almost sorry to come out of cryo-stasis. Almost.

Shuri was there, and T'Challa.

"You fixed me?" Ali asked, grinning.

"You fixed yourself," Shuri replied, as Ali floated out of the cell. She felt in control, powerful – hungry.

"I could go for a mac and cheese right about now," she announced to the room at large.

[]

She was brought up to speed while she was fed – she had gone under for half a month while Shuri rebooted her mind to scrub her free of Dr. Grahame' psychological tampering and to help combat the effects of the steroid serum.

"Your usage of the serum was very irresponsible – it sped up your metabolism, but that meant that it greatly reduced your lifespan and interfered with many organ functions," Shuri lectured her.

"Well," she said with a shrug, "my line of work usually doesn't offer a decent retirement plan."

"Even if you hadn't overdosed this time, you might have died of sudden cardiac arrest or acute liver failure at any given moment," Shuri informed her flatly. Ali gaped at her for a moment.

"Well then, thank you, Shuri, overlord of all things science and medicine," she said weakly, and Shuri nodded, smiling.

"Thankfully, you got to us quickly enough that I could counteract most of the damage, so you should live anywhere between 3 to 80 more years," Shuri said, and Ali wasn't sure if she were joking or not. "But no more steroid usage – now you heal the normal way, or not at all."

Ali nodded earnestly.

[]

Ali was taken to a farmhouse outside of a village outside of the city, to recuperate in peace. She was still very weak, and she was bothered by chronic headaches and heart aches. She at least would get to take a rest from the high stress lifestyle of crime fighting, vigilante work, and constantly running for her life.

"I brought you a familiar face," Shuri told her.

"I don't know any Wakandans, save for your brother," Ali replied, confused. The only other white face for hundreds of miles stepped forward. He was scruffy, but he looked more or less sane. Ali studied him for a while, and ultimately decided it'd be okay to show a little resentment, seeing as Shuri trusted him enough to be in his kill-range without bodyguards or her brother. The sound of children became suddenly apparent. She went for it.

"Bucky Barnes. You threw a door at me."

"It's James Barnes to the like of you. You attacked a senior citizen," Bucky replied gruffly. They walked on, as if that settled things. Bucky nodded to Shuri as she returned to her jet.

"So, you're a farmer now," Ali noted. Bucky sighed, but he was smiling wryly. "No judgment," she added. "There are worse occupational choices."

"Wanna go meet the goats?" he offered. Ali followed quietly.

She didn't like the goats.


	7. Wakanda i (2016)

**Much Needed R&R**

**Wakanda (2016-2017)**

Bucky was a gruff host.

Ali didn't mind – the less questions she had to answer the better. Anyway, what was she supposed to say to someone who'd spent most of their life brainwashed?

What'd you have for breakfast? Have you met Hitler? Why goats? What happened to your arm? Are you gonna keep the beard? Have you named it yet? How old are you? When's dinner?

Apparently, the things Ali wanted to know were endless, but she stayed silent and kept her fidgeting to a minimum as Bucky showed her the facilities.

[]

Whenever the new girl wanted to ask Bucky something, her eyes lit up briefly before she looked down at her toes and swallowed the question.

Bucky pretended not to notice, but was quietly alarmed when she began to do repeat this process every five seconds for an entire minute.

[]

Bucky was a bad cook, but no worse than Sam or Nat. (Steve's cooking was highly experimental, but it was usually edible.)

Ali ate her food silently, cursing her taste buds for being such advanced, refined critics. She kept her face professionally blank, however.

"Thanks," Bucky said suddenly, jarring her from her torturous meal.

"It's not that bad-," she said, jumping, and shut up when she saw Bucky's bemused face.

"That bad, huh?" he asked wryly, and took Ali's bowl from her. He nodded at a stack of notebooks on the coffee table. "I meant those."

Ali's face burned.

"It was no problem – they were easier to take than I thought they'd be," she muttered, as Bucky tossed her a piece of fruit. Although he couldn't cook to save his life, Bucky was a great connoisseur of seasonal fruit.

[]

She slept like a baby that night, and woke up without a whisper of a headache.

[]

Bucky worked on the farm from the crack of dawn, and Ali had a warm breakfast for him by the time he returned. He ate like a starving man, which was the greatest compliment a great chef like herself could receive.

"I'd like to help out," she told him, once he was done eating.

He gave her a dark appraising look. She didn't know it, but he was comparing how alive she looked compared to on the operating table, though she was still pale and fragile looking.

"Sure," he agreed, and they went out to the fields.

[]

Bucky didn't go easy on Ali since she was hurt or because she was a woman, but he seemed to guess intuitively when she was tired, for they'd take breaks accordingly. The day went by too quickly. Her hair was matted down, her limbs were heavy, her muscles sore, but at the end of the day, Ali relished the feeling of the cool breeze on her skin.

"So did Steve tell you anything about me?" she asked as they took a last breather. She sat on the fence to Bucky's little farm, eating an apple, and he leaned against it beside her.

"Hmm?" He looked up at her, grinned, then looked back down. "They have rhino farms, you know."

"What did he tell you?" she asked, again. Bucky looked up again, really looked at her.

"He told me you kept the fact that I was in Romania from him, only to tell him yourself, so you're either really bad at keeping secrets or just dumb," he grunted at last. Ali laughed. Her laughter was loud and sudden, like a clap of thunder.

"It's both," she said assuredly. Her eyes were twinkling, but her smile was sad. Bucky felt uneasy, as he didn't want to be the reason for her discomfort. He'd never been good with the sadness of dames. "I didn't realize you were that important to him," she admitted softly.

"He's the clingy type," Bucky grunted, and Ali looked up, surprised. She stared at him for a moment, unsure of whether he was joking or not, when laughter bubbled up from her throat, softly at first, then quite loudly. She laughed delightedly, a clear, tinkling sound that he'd heard once. When was the last time he had heard such a sound? When had he last elicited such a sound?

"Yeah? And what type do I seem like?" she asked jovially once she was done laughing. Bucky took his time answering, listening quietly to Ali eating her apple.

"You seem… honest. I haven't seen anyone this… sincere in 70 years," Bucky said at last, a little uncomfortably.

"Welp, that's a really flattering way to put it," Ali said with a laugh. "Most people just think I'm over-emotional and cry too often."

Bucky shrugged. "Sure. That, too."

Ali laughed and nudged him gently in the shoulder with her knee. She was too busy eating her apple to see the look he gave her jeans.

"So," he said after a while. "You fly."

Ali hesitated for once. "Not yet, I don't think," she replied gently, in case she hurt her own feelings. "Maybe in a couple days."

Bucky gave her a once over – the sallow complexion, the deep hollows in the cheeks, the limp hair were all reminiscent of a cadaver. Yet there was something so alive in her grey green eyes, like a thunderstorm that came alive on warm winds.

"Sure," he grunted, and went back to work. Ali finished her apple quickly and followed suit.

[]

That night, she slept like a baby, exhausted from her farm work.

That night, Bucky screamed, trapped in his nightmares.

[]

It took a week for Ali to get used to the farm work. Bucky was surly and reserved, and went into instant-kill mode if she snuck up on him, but Ali began to pick up on subtle cues of his gentle thoughtfulness. He never made her feel inadequate or weak, but often picked up after her sloppy work when he thought she wasn't looking. Ali watched him intently even on her breaks, to learn after him, sure, but also because she could watch him move all day. He had an assured cadence that she hadn't expected, honestly, from a one-armed man. He was also quite gentle with the animals, particularly with the goats, whom Ali still despised.

"Why goats?" she asked, one day. She had accidentally wiped under her nose with a shitty sleeve, and suffered for an entire afternoon.

"Why not?" he replied simply, walking past her.

All of the goats followed him without hesitation.

[]

Bucky gathered hay to haul into the village. The villagers needed it much more than he did, since the grasses around the farm were enough for his goats, and he wanted to repay them for their kindness. He was doing this one morning when Ali showed up with a piece of bread in her mouth and a piece in her fist. She watched him rake the grasses together for a moment.

Without a word, Ali took the pitchfork from his one hand and handed him the piece of bread instead. Still blinking sleep from her eyes, she whipped up a wind to round up the hay and formed them into tight bundles. Ali glanced self-consciously at Bucky, who had dropped his bread and was staring at her incredulously. She swallowed.

"Got some chords to tie them up or something?" she mumbled.

He handed them to her wordlessly.

[]

When Ali woke, she assumed it was because she needed to pee. She didn't realize it was because of the screaming until she was somewhat conscious. She lay in bed, listening to Bucky's screams and fighting herself – to get up, to comfort him, to stay where she was, to slip back into sleep.

The minutes turned into hours, into days. It could have been thirty tortuous seconds or five years when Ali decided she couldn't take it anymore. Even so, she really shouldn't have gone into his room uninvited. Despite the comfy-looking bed in the center of the room, Bucky slept squashed in a chair in the corner.

Ali _really_ shouldn't have loomed over him in the dark.

His eyes snapped open long before he was conscious and he jerked his left shoulder at her. When he realized he lacked a metal arm, he proceeded to grab her by the neck with his flesh-and-blood arm. He swung her around and pinned her to the wall.

With a sigh, Ali brought her legs up to his chest and grabbed his forearm with both hands. In one smooth twist, she pulled free from his grasp, and using her momentum, twisted him onto his back. Ali stayed seated on Bucky's back with his arm twisted behind him until he quit struggling.

"Alizeh?" he whispered, and she got up.

"You okay?" she asked, helping him up. He stretched his arm, looking haggard.

"What happened?" he asked hoarsely, staring at her through wide, fearful eyes.

"You had a bad dream is all," she said nonchalantly, with as gentle a smile as she could conjure.

"Did I… Did I attack you?" he asked seriously.

"Nothing I couldn't handle," Ali said confidently, but the damage was done. Bucky sunk onto the foot of his bed, his chin in his hand.

"I'm really sorry," he whispered, unable to meet her eyes.

"Hey, I can handle myself, even against you," Ali said. She fidgeted, unsure whether she should stay or go back to bed.

"Why are you here?" he asked, when the silence stretched on.

Ali hesitated.

"If you're doing this on Steve's behalf, you don't have to," he said decisively.

"No – it's nothing like that," Ali blustered. "It's just – I know how bad they get when no one wakes you up."

Bucky looked up, then dropped his gaze again.

"Steve always woke me up when I got too loud," she admitted, her words clumsy and bumbling in the still of night. "I nearly killed him on three separate occasions. Come on – let's get you to bed."

He shook his head, jaw tight.

"Alright then," Ali agreed. "How about we spread some blankets on the floor?"

"You don't have to do this," Bucky said firmly. Ali stared at him. His jaw was so tightly clenched that she decided to take his invitation to leave.

"Good night, James," she whispered as she left the room, closing the door quietly behind her.

[]

Ali didn't fail to join Bucky for morning chores. He looked no worse than usual, but there was a tightness to his eyes and jaw that told Ali he didn't want to talk. Her eyes were puffier and she was clumsier than usual, but Bucky didn't mention it. They worked in silence, except for the most basic communication. Ali had already gotten used to the farm work that she could help out without explicit instruction, anyway. Bucky pointed out when she made glaring mistakes, and she fixed them quietly.

"Are you just going to stay here?" Ali asked later in the evening. The two were sitting in the living room, reading, as the sun disappeared beneath the hills outside. Bucky looked up from the holographic tablet Shuri had gifted him, and took a moment to process her question.

"Where would I go?" he asked grumpily. "The world knows now that it wasn't me behind the Vienna bombing, but they were still reminded that I'm at large."

"Well, the Wakandans don't seem to mind," Ali reminded him hopefully. "Why not, I don't know, slowly broaden your periphery?"

Bucky shook his head. Ali let the matter drop, and returned to her book.

"What about you?" he asked after a while, sighing heavily. Ali finished her paragraph and placed a finger on her spot.

"Hrmm?" She looked up to find Bucky watching her. "Me? One the one hand, the world is a mess with the Avengers broken up. But, on the other, I am heartbroken. A good fella like Steve – leaving me all alone in this world."

She grinned a shit-eating grin and swooned dramatically, putting the back of her hand on her forehead. Bucky didn't believe any of it for a moment. When she saw that he wasn't impressed by her performance, she added, "I could use some time off from saving the world. Anyway, it's nice hanging out with you on the farm."

"I thought you hated the goats," he reminded her after a minute.

"Oh, I'm gonna eat each and every one of them," she agreed, flipping a page.

[]

Ali first practiced flying when she thought Bucky wasn't watching, though she didn't usually mind an audience. She was mostly afraid of still being too weak to fly and plowing straight into goat manure or punching a hole in the farmhouse roof. Her flight abilities were still unsteady and she couldn't stay long in the air, but it only took a little practice before she was as proficient as ever. The first time she flew before Bucky, neither of them realized.

"Can you go get the toolbox from that shelf there?" he asked, kicking the faulty machinery in case it would fix itself. It didn't, and Ali idly floated over to the shelf and retrieved the box. It was only when she handed it to Bucky that they both realized that she was floating, like some apparition, an inch or so from the ground.

Ali, almost embarrassedly, dropped to the ground. Bucky turned away, rifling through the toolbox.

"I'm still taller than you," he told the machine, dispassionately.

[]

Ali woke up to Bucky's screaming. She glanced at the clock, which read 2:23. Compromising between her desire to stay toasty-oasty warm and be a good friend to the loneliest man on earth, Ali blanket burritoed herself before going to wake Bucky up. He was slumped on the floor between his bed and nightstand, screaming and twitching. Ali caught a notebook as it fell off the nightstand, and looked back at Bucky to see him eyeing her, his eyes unfocused. She wondered if standing still would hel-

Bucky sprang forward, seized her by the shoulder, and threw her onto the floor. Ali moaned when her head hit the floor, but the worst of the blow was absorbed by the blanket. She rolled out of the way as he punched toward her head, and kicked him in the side. However, her blanket restricted her movements, and he caught her legs. He climbed atop in a flash, straddled her, and began to choke her with his one hand. Ali thought fast – should she escape the blanket burrito, or just use her powers and restrict his air flow a little? Had Bucky not snapped awake in that moment, Ali might not have gotten the hit in.

As it was, she headbutted up and caught Bucky right in the forehead. She snapped her head back and struck him once more, this time in the jaw. He fell heavily on his butt.

"Shit," Ali swore, following him up. "Sorry!"

Bucky moaned in reply, clutching his forehead and chin. Ali watched, briefly distracted by his open show of pain. His eyes soon adjusted to the low light, and he spotted her and the rest of the room, which was in a state of disarray. Ali lay back down, chuckling sporadically as she tried to get her heartrate back down. The only other sound was Bucky's haggard breathing for a while. Twin red spots bloomed on their foreheads.

"I don't breathe, you know," she said conversationally, at long last.

"What?" Bucky barked incredulously. Ali rolled onto her side to look at him, her eyes smiling.

"Yeah – it's outdated, breathing through your trachea, so I stopped three years ago," she explained nonchalantly, but cleared her throat a little painfully. She didn't breathe, but she wasn't exempt from the pain that followed being strangled from above by a two hundred-pound man.

She sat up. Bucky took his time replying.

"Was I screaming again?" he asked.

"Yeah," she said softly. "Would you like to talk about it?"

He shook his head, jaw clenched tight and brows furrowed. By the time he spoke again, Ali had almost fallen back asleep in her blanket burrito.

"Do you nightmare?"

His voice was childlike. It took Ali a moment to realize she wasn't dreaming.

"Shuri got rid of a lot of the damage," she said hoarsely, and cleared her throat. She nearly fell back asleep again, but forced herself to open her eyes. She turned her face to Bucky, who watched her every movement. "If you join me on the floor, I'll tell you," she offered sleepily.

She could see Bucky inwardly debating before he grabbed his own blanket off the bed. Ali helped him blanket burrito himself into it, though he tensed up a great deal. He kept a healthy amount of space between them, but Ali considered it a win. Speaking gently to the floor boards, she told him her story, taking sleepy detours and leaving out entire sections before circling back later. When she was done, she looked up to see if Bucky was listening, to find him fast asleep.

Ali fell asleep before she had quite closed her eyes.

[]

Bucky woke at sunup to find Ali face down beside him. He was tempted to flip her over when he remembered that she didn't need to breathe. Judging from what little he could see of her face, she also slept with her eyes half open. Bucky decided that was not an image he needed in his mind so early in the day, and let her be.

[]

They visited the nearby village at least twice a month – to get foodstuffs and to shop for anything they might need. The children milled excitedly around them both, but Ali soon found that they held a special love for Bucky. Even as he walked around the village, or talked with any of its inhabitants, he might have a child or two swinging excitedly from his one arm, or hugging his legs, which he dragged through the village. One of the children, a small boy of perhaps three, deemed Ali an adequate substitute and attached himself to her leg. The village elders sat on mats outside, soaking up the warm rays, and would laugh at the children's antics, pointing wizened fingers. Ali dragged her leg through town till the child decided it didn't like being in the dirt, and held up his arms to be held instead. She scooped him up and he fell promptly asleep against her shoulder.

They chased Ali and Bucky out of the village, singing songs of the white wolf in a mix of Xhosa and English and occasionally poking him playfully with a stick. What alarmed Ali most of all was that Bucky would actually give chase, and the child would flee with a gleeful squeal. Bucky would catch the child with one arm, throw them over his shoulder, and spin a couple times before setting them back down on their feet. Once, a child poked Ali right below her butt and looked back to see if she was chasing her. Sighing, Ali set her bag down before giving chase. She threw the little girl high into the air and caught her with a cushioning wind to find every little jaw watching her dropped. Bucky was grinning wider than she'd ever seen, and his eyes crinkled fondly.

The children did not quit following until she had thrown each and every one in the air at least three times.

[]

Ali slept like a baby that night, and Bucky braved his nightmares on his own.

[]

The next night, Ali woke to a crash. Throwing her blanket aside, she leapt out of bed and rushed to Bucky's room. She scanned the room for a moment – his chair had been thrown at the wall and had splintered, and the bed was pushed aside. Bucky was huddled in a corner, and Ali approached him. Quick as a flash, he sprang at her, grabbed her by the shoulder and threw her back toward the door. Ali caught herself out of the air and floated uneasily, watching him. There was something different about his demeanor, about his eyes. He was fully awake this time.

Bucky returned slowly to his corner.

Ali did not leave.

"You are not the monster in your dreams," she told him calmly, dropping to the ground and planting her feet on the cool floorboards. When he did not respond, she repeated herself. "You are not the-," she started, when he leapt up and crossed the room in three steps. He ended up right in her face, and his breath was warm on her skin. Despite herself, Ali flinched.

"Yeah," Bucky growled, breathing hard, "right."

When he turned away from her, Ali grabbed his hand. His entire body tensed, as if she'd struck him, and he stayed frozen.

"Tell me what happened," she said in a soft voice. He turned to her again, slowly. His jaw worked furiously and he breathed hard through his nose, but it was his eyes that showed just how furious he was. Ali could not look away.

"Why?" he growled, standing right in her face. He gripped her hand painfully. "So that you can fix me? So that you can save me? So that you can do that and go back to your golden boy? Finish another of Steve's missions?"

Ali looked down at Bucky's chest, which was heaving, and laughed in a low voice. Bucky's grip on her hand tightened white-hot before he released her. Perhaps he was scared of breaking her. Ali looked up at him, straight into those furious eyes, and smiled thinly.

"If you're the broken boy, you can be sure as hell that I'm the broken girl," she told him, quite softly. She was smiling, but her eyes glittered dangerously. Bucky watched her uneasily, but she saw something – nothing as eloquent as recognition or familiarity, but something similar somewhere in his expression.

"What, you thought you'd be the only monster in this room? You think Steve would have left me here with you if he didn't think I could hold up next to you? When I was nine years old, I was taken apart, replaced bone by bone by my father, to become his own medical miracle, his own flying circus monkey.

"Obviously, when the authorities found out that I had been stitched back together in nineteen different spots on my body…" Her voice was jovial and light. It was terrible. She turned around and shed her shirt with quick, measured movements. "They took him away." She cleared her hair over one shoulder, to show him the line of neat scars that ran down her spine and extended toward her arms. Its beginnings were lost in the nape of her neck and its end disappeared past the waistband of her sweatpants. She continued speaking, because it hurt more to be silent. She spoke steadily, hypnotically.

"But by then the damage had been done. I was taken to a government facility, where I was tested on, where samples of my blood, bone tissue, and spinal fluid were taken at regular intervals. And I would have rotten there if not for Director Carter."

Ali's voice broke, and she ducked for her shirt. She pulled it on and faced him again, arms crossed over her chest. Her eyes stared blindly into the darkness, approximating where Bucky's face was.

"I've only ever told one other person," Ali whispered to it, "and it wasn't Steve."

A tear fell, unbidden, from her eye onto Bucky's toe.

They stood like that for a while, Ali staring numbly at Bucky's mismatched socks, and him watching the top of her head.

"Take a seat," he finally sighed, pointing to the bed behind her. They sat opposite each other.

"I've killed over 30 people," he began in a haunted whisper. "Men, women, children. It didn't matter who or why. It just mattered that the Soviets or HYDRA wanted them dead. Every night I fall off the train every, and every night I go through my kill list. The worst part," his voice caught, and he cleared his throat, "is that I could have fought back if I'd tried hard enough. I only realized… when I met Steve on that bridge."

"Isn't that just the way," Ali muttered under her breath, with a secret smile. She looked up to see him watching her so intently that she gave in and told him. "Mine was named Peter."

They sat in silence for a while. Ali became distracted by Bucky's hand, and took it in her own, inspecting it closely. The wrinkles, the nails, the folds and dips and divots. The veins, the knuckles, the lines crisscrossing over his palm.

"You saved his life that day, on the helicarrier," she told his fingers. Her gaze traced quickly up his hand to his arm, to his shoulder, up the contour of his face, to his eyes. "You saved his life too many times to count, though, before, haven't you?"

Bucky dropped his gaze, smiling bitterly.

"What did Steve tell you?" he asked through clenched teeth.

"He trotted out all your virtues, your life story, and your unfortunate tendency to entertain several women at once," Ali said with a small smile. His smile turned genuine, and he stared far into the past. At one point, he spotted Ali's hand, and his smile disappeared.

"I'm not exactly boyfriend material anymore," he said, shrugging with his left shoulder. Ali gestured to it.

"May I?" she asked. Bucky hesitated for a moment before he dipped his chin. He undid the bandana from around his shoulder and shrugged out of his shirt. Ali's eyes roamed unabashedly over his chest and stomach, before climbing up to his left shoulder and what was left of his arm. There were two sets of scar tissue, one at the base of the stump, and one at his shoulder. Ali felt at both, and Bucky watched her intently.

"You tried to take it off – the arm," she said slowly, as she traced a red mark on his chest.

"I didn't want it," he explained. "Not even if it meant having to live with one arm."

"You're more whole without it," Ali agreed, and trailed the curve of his shoulder. She did the thing – the thing she did on her first day on the farm. Her eyes lit up, she glanced at her toes and swallowed the question.

"What is it?" Bucky drawled, disguising a sigh quickly.

"Does it tickle?" Ali asked with a sudden smile. Whatever Bucky expected, it hadn't been this.

"What?"

"Does it tickle? Has it ever itched, I don't know – in the armpit?" she asked, trying hard to hide her grin. Bucky shook his head, eyes wide and alarmed.

"No – I, I've never even thought that," he said honestly. Ali's grin widened.

"Would you like to find out?" she asked, her hand creeping down his shoulder. Looking mildly annoyed, Bucky caught her hand and dropped it in her lap.

"Hand me my shirt, would you?" he said instead, and Ali pouted as she helped him put on his shirt and handed him the bandana. He tied it over his shoulder adroitly with one hand.

"It was an honest question," she told him sullenly.

"What are you, 8?" Bucky snorted, scratching his left shoulder thoughtlessly.

"Ha! It must itch sometimes – you're practically scratching it right now," Ali said gleefully. Bucky gave her an incredulous look and shook his head.

"We should get some sleep," he said at last.

"Oh," Ali said, getting up. "Okay. Good night, James."

She started toward the door.

"Ali," he called before she got to it. "Stay. Please?"

Ali looked back.

"Of course."

They braved the bed that night, and Bucky took a long time getting uncomfortable enough to stand it. Ali was half asleep when he spoke.

"It's Bucky."

[]

Ali stayed all of four months on the farm. She almost always woke Bucky from his nightmares, held him still until he woke up, took his pre-conscious flailing, took whatever stories he divulged, and never spoke of them come morning. Most often, he'd shut down completely and sit unreceptively in his chair. Ali would drape a blanket over him and wait for him to wake from his stupor. Sometimes she turned on 40s music, or braid his hair, or read quietly beside him. A couple times, he snapped awake. Once, he slapped her hand away before she could finish tying his pigtails and surprised her into shrill explosive laughter that lasted for five minutes. Once, she succeeded in making a million tiny braids.

Mostly, he stayed still till morning, and Ali would finally make herself at home on his bed. At times like these, she would sit watching him – the empty eyes, the mouth knocked ajar by demons he could not voice, the drawn cheeks. Always she'd end up falling asleep anyway, a little guilty that her own nightmares were so easily subdued.

Ali, who was well accustomed to Steve's losses (though he fancied himself discreet), soon acquainted herself with Bucky's. Steve had lost the Howling Commandos and a dance, owed to one Peggy Carter. He had already been partially acclimated to Bucky's death, had mourned him. Had, to some degree, moved on. He had no immediate family to speak of, no blood ties to the 40s. His death was sacrificial, selfless, noble. His legacy was 70 years of first mourning, remembering, exalting.

Bucky had lost his entire family, his best friend, the beautiful brief memories of his past, the future he had once dreamt of, the dignity of a free man, and the privilege of fighting for his own beliefs. His 'death' was as noble as Steve's, yet his life from then on was a systematic defiling which stripped him of everything he ever knew and cherished. Despite all this Ali had a quiet suspicion that, in a twisted way, he enjoyed the nightly visits of his demons. Invited them. Welcomed them. He was doing penance for his crimes, no matter who deserved the blame – fate had allocated him a heavy dose, and he bore it willingly, though he struggled under its weight.

In the quiet hours of deep night, Ali often sang. Usually they were silly songs – ditties, jingles, a couple carols here and there. Maybe a ballad, if she felt gaudy enough. First she sang in English. When Bucky did not respond, and she was not quite so self-conscious, she moved on to Spanish songs, those of her beloved childhood, before her world went to shit. She was astonished to find she had forgotten much of it, and the loss dealt her a heavy blow. Still, she knew enough songs to whisper in the wee hours of the night. She did not know if they helped Bucky. They did, however, help her keep vigil.

Perhaps her company helped. Perhaps her songs, though she was no great singer. Perhaps Bucky decided he'd suffered enough. Perhaps he found the strength to fight his demons from within. At any rate, Bucky's demons began to visit less frequently, and stayed for shorter periods of time. When Bucky emerged, gaunt but victorious, from his own mind, Ali would be there. She spoke of her mother, of Peter, and her world before, which she rarely discoursed with anyone other than Steve and Sakuya. Bucky listened like a starving man, as if her stories had the answers he needed.

"Spiderman?" Bucky repeated the first time Ali referred to Peter by his alias. His voice was raspy, as if he'd been screaming. He hadn't.

"Peter," Ali said, checking herself. "You met him, kind of, in the airport. It – my world had another Peter Parker, who looked different, who lived different, who probably acted different."

"And this world has that kid," Bucky said gravely. Ali nodded, smiling softly. He glared at his fingers.

"You must miss him," he said at long last. "I mean – T'Challa found a file on my family and friends, so I at least have their pictures."

Ali gave Bucky a long look, and began to tell him about Steve and Sakuya, and IDEA. When she was done, Bucky was quiet for a very long time. Ali retrieved her photo of her and Peter and showed it to him. The photograph had been worn from all her handling, but she'd made a couple copies. She'd be damned if she forgot Peter gracefully.

Soon, Ali ran out of stories. When that happened, Bucky got up heavily from his seat and rummaged about at the bookshelf. He pulled out a new notebook and handed it to Ali. She smiled and began to write.


	8. Wakanda ii (2016-7)

**Wakanda ii (2016-2017)**

As Bucky became more comfortable around Ali, he also became less apologetic. Mostly, Ali preferred this, because weight-of-the-world Bucky was not a fun Bucky to be around. Sometimes, though, he managed to exasperate even her.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" she asked, waking up from her nap with a start to find Bucky looming over her navel. Bucky picked her hand up and showed it to her. Her wrist was tied with a string, and the other end was tied loosely to the couch leg. It took a moment to realize that sometime during her nap, Ali had floated up off the couch, and Bucky was now treating her like a giant balloon.

He showed her the pictures he'd taken and sent to Shuri of him holding onto the string with her way up on the ceiling.

"I look like a dead fish," Ali complained.

"You drool like one, too," Bucky agreed without any inflection in his voice, and Ali threw a couch cushion at him.

[]

Ali was great with children.

Having the unfair powers that made unassisted flight possible, Ali would levitate them a couple feet above the ground and let them go flying around. Bucky watched, jealous, as Ali flew with the children in a V formation.

"What, you want a ride?" she offered coyly when she noticed him watching.

Bucky hesitated.

"Sure," he muttered. She burst out laughing, slapping her knees in an excessive show of extreme mirth. He threw a bundle of hay at her to get her to stop.

He got his ride.

[]

Once, they birthed goats. The villagers came and helped them with it. It was beautiful and terrible, and it left them exhausted.

"That's the last one," Bucky said, wiping his brow with his forearm.

"Great. Wonder what they taste like," Ali said, and laughed at his expression. "I'm just kidding – literally."

"Oh, haha, very funny," Bucky laughed sarcastically. "I thought I'd name this one Valentine."

"You named the goat babies?" Ali asked incredulously. Bucky shrugged.

"They're better company than you."

"Apparently not, since you're naming one after me," Ali replied smugly. "What'd you call the other ones? There has to be a Steve somewhere in there."

"That one," Bucky said, pointing to the runt of the lot.

"And is there a Bucky?" Ali prompted. He looked at her and grinned, but didn't reply.

They watched Valentine find a teat, and then left to wash up.

[]

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" Ali asked wryly. Bucky looked up at her off the floor, where he was taking apart one of Ali's knitted sweaters.

"Valentine caught a cold," he explained, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world, and returned to unraveling her sweater. For the rest of the day, Ali watched him knit Valentine a new sweater using her destroyed one. He returned it to her, now cropped and uneven at the bottom and missing half a sleeve.

[]

"Why Bucky?" she asked one day while thoughtfully eating a plum. Bucky took his time responding, as per usual, but Ali just took another bite while she waited.

"There were too many Jameses, Jims, and Jimmys," he explained. "I told Steve, and he thought Bucky was a good alternative. I hated it. It stuck."

"I hate it, too," Ali told him gleefully.

"Yeah? What would you suggest?"

Ali thought hard for a moment.

"Jay, Jam, Jammy, Jamie, Buck-Buck, Jim-O, and Buke the Nuke," she listed confidently. Bucky threw a plum at her head, missed, and the plum exploded against a goat behind her. The goat, bleating angrily, headbutted the fence, and threw Ali clear. She stumbled down to Bucky, who caught her before she could trip all the way down to kingdom come. Ali clutched her mouth and spat out a plum stone vindictively.

"Ever heard of karma?" Bucky asked mildly, and Ali punched him in the shoulder.

[]

Though Bucky rarely if ever had nightmares bad enough to jar him awake anymore, he still had many sleepless nights. Ali would keep him company whenever she could, drinking tea in the kitchen, curled up on the couch, holding hands under blankets. Once, she helped him calculate his age.

"68 years – no more than two months out a year – so that's about 11 years' worth," she muttered, doing the sums out on a piece of scrap paper. "How old were you when you were… you know."

"Abducted and brainwashed to make a super assassin? Around 26," Bucky replied grimly. "That'd make me 37."

"Wow. I knew you were old, but I didn't think you were actually _old_," Ali laughed, setting down her pen.

"If anything, since the last time I was in full control of myself was when I was 26, I should still be considered 26. I'm actually younger than you," Bucky said, his eyes crinkling at her.

"You should respect your elders, then," Ali said with a wink. Her expression turned cold. "And stop calling me kid."

"I'm a hundred years old, doll. I think I should be allowed to call you that," he replied, sipping tea. Ali studied him thoughtfully.

"Why do you call me that?" she asked.

"What – kid?"

"No, not that. Doll," she corrected him, burning her tongue on her own tea and grimacing. Bucky thought on it for a moment.

"You are a doll, I suppose," he said after a while. "It's what I used to call pretty girls. I thought it'd make me feel… like myself again."

"And did it?"

"A little," Bucky said with a smile. Ali found herself smiling back despite herself.

"So," she mused after a while. "You think I'm pretty."

Bucky drank his tea. His expression was neutral. His ears were deathly red.

"That pretty, huh?" Ali said, her eyebrows dancing criminally.

[]

Ali often spoke in her sleep.

Bucky would wake up at sunup to do the farm chores and pass by her door to hear her moaning and muttering. She'd assured him on multiple occasions that she no longer nightmared except for trivial mundane things, like sentient scissors and hordes of spiders.

One day, Bucky was possessed to open the door and check on her. Ali was on her side, her blankets thrown into disarray and most of her pillows on the floor. She was muttering something incoherently, but there was a name she repeated several times.

Peter. Peter. Peter.

After a moment of indecision, Bucky shook her gently awake. Ali sprang up into a sitting position, looking wildly about. It took a moment for her to recognize Bucky, and he was hurt to see that her first expression was that of disappointment.

"What's wrong?" she asked in a hushed voice.

"Nothing's wrong," Bucky replied, still holding her by the shoulder. "You just seemed like you were having a bad dream."

Ali slumped against her headboard and closed her eyes, exhaling hard through her nose. Eventually, she opened her eyes and smiled at Bucky. There was no twinkle in her eyes.

"Thanks," she said tightly, and he left. When he turned around to close the door, she was hugging her knees.

[]

They went to watch a movie once.

They entrusted the goats to a couple kids from the village, took a bus out to a nearby town, and then a hovercraft to the capital. The movie theaters were massive, and they got lost thrice. The movie was in Xhosa, but Bucky and Ali were administered special glasses that superimposed English subtitles over the screen. The movie was a horror film, the first that Bucky'd ever seen. He watched, fascinated, at the lifelike effects and bloodcurdling scenes, and Ali crushed her own fingers, keeping her yelps and screams to a minimum.

Halfway through the film, Bucky gently pried Ali's hands apart (they were turning blue) and let her hold onto his. His hand was strangely sweaty, but Ali held onto it like a lifeline. The lights flickered on and people filed out of the theater, and the two disentangled at last, stiff and thoroughly terrified.

"You can save the world but you can't take a bit of electric sawing?" Bucky snorted, as cleaning bots made their way through the aisles. Ali stared at him with eyes still stuck wide open.

"Speak for yourself, Barnes," she said, her voice hoarse. "You're a hundred – shouldn't you be all zen by now?"

Actual human workers had to come and pry them off the seats, going so far as to escort them out of the massive theater.

After the movie, they went to go look at the electronics stores, and Ali lost Bucky twice. Turned out he was an enormous tech fan, something she would never have guessed, giving his current occupation of being a hundred-year old goat herder. He bought a drone camera and spent half an evening taking it apart and putting it back together again.

[]

Ali spoke highly of Steve, often, without prompting, and for as long as she could before it annoyed Bucky. She told him about Sakuya, who'd been in a similar situation as himself, and of Nat, with whom he was already acquainted. She told him about Big Bird, Sam Wilson, who called her Tweetie. She told him about Tony Stark, because he wasn't a bad guy. He was trying his best, maybe a little too much. She told him about Wanda, and Vision, and the way they looked at each other when they thought no one could see. About Clint, Bruce, Rhodey, Doreen, Jeniffer, Chris. About Silver, too.

But mostly about Steve.

"Sounds like you're in love with him," Bucky said at last, once he decided he'd like her to shut up for good about America's Golden Boy, the punk.

Ali turned away from him. She pretended to put her book back in its slot, despite having used her powers to move most anything she could get away with the past couple months. If Bucky hadn't been watching so closely, he wouldn't have seen as her expression saddened, or the look of resolute stubbornness that passed over it.

[]

Once, one of the goats died.

Ali watched on helplessly when she found him glaring at the sunrise after they buried it. His face was stony and his chin had dimpled helplessly. She unfolded his hand, put a juice box into it, and headed back to the house.

The second time, she had gone searching for him when he didn't return from feeding the goats, and found him in the hay, quietly holding Steve the goat in his arms. She extricated herself from the building before he noticed her, and finished his chores for him.

The third time, Bucky was making himself some before-bedtime cocoa, with a blanket draped over his shoulders against the night chill. He cried quietly, shivering, utterly heartbroken. Ali gently pried his cocoa away from him before he dropped it, and leaned Bucky's head against her shoulder. He hugged her tight around the waist, as if making sure she was corporeal and alive. Ali cried, too, despite herself. She drank Bucky's cocoa to lift her spirits, which helped.

[]

He was great with children.

Having super strength, Bucky would let the kids climb him. Sometimes they'd swing by his one arm, or he'd take them around on his shoulders. Ali watched, jealous, as the children piled onto him, laughing. He caught her looking.

"What, you want a ride?" he drawled.

She hesitated.

"I fly, Bucky," she reminded him, and continued with her work.

"Come on," Bucky called. "There's no need to be embarrassed!"

"Of course there is," she replied, as a gaggle of children came giggling toward her. They pushed her to Bucky, and she didn't fight them. There were a pair of tiny hands that didn't quite reach the small of her back and were planted quite resolutely on her behind.

"I'm a grown ass woman," she reminded him, pointing a finger and glaring at Bucky.

"Got it, champ," he drawled easily, a smirk on his face. "Don't use your powers, or it won't count."

"Don't drop me," Ali said, with some trepidation, as he hefted her onto his shoulder. Ali let out a small shriek as she lurched forward, but Bucky steadied her. The children cheered.

"Kiss! Kiss! Kiss!" they chanted.

"Yeah, that's our cue to go, I think," Bucky muttered, and began to run. He had her shift onto both of his shoulders, and he ran at full tilt, dodging hay here and there. Ali cried laughing, and crossed her legs across his chest, lifting her arms in the air. He let the kids catch up and Ali rolled off his shoulders onto a hay stack, only to catch a little boy who leapt at her. Bucky and the rest of the kids collapsed onto the pile before her.

Bucky got up and swung Ali down from the haystack. She was still paralyzed with laughter, and the strength in her knees left her twice. He steadied her each time. The little boy who'd jumped onto Ali had attached himself to her back like a baby koala. Finding a better target, he swung himself onto Bucky's back. When they finally went back to work, he kept him there like a backpack.

[]

"What the hell?" Bucky muttered hoarsely, squinting in the low light. Ali was looming over him, her face thrown in darkness, her hair spilling off her shoulders. One of her hands was under his neck, the other on his right shoulder.

"Shhhh," she shushed immediately. "Go back to sleep." She took a seat on the edge of his bed and began to pat his chest gently, humming quietly. Bucky didn't remember falling back asleep.

When he awoke in the morning, Bucky found that Ali had knitted an arm for him, complete with crocheted flowers and stuffing so it would have volume. It was attached to him with two strings, one of which was tied over his right shoulder, the other around his chest. He barged into her room – she was sleeping without a care in the world, the knitted arm swinging haphazardly and bumping into his body with every step.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" he demanded hoarsely, shaking Ali awake. She woke at once, and burst out laughing when she spotted the look on his face. When she began crying from the mirth, even Bucky couldn't stay mad at her.

"I just – I just thought you could use a change of costume, to keep up with the seasons," she sobbed, clutching her side in pain as it seized up from excessive laughter. Bucky shivered violently with realization.

"I learned how to knit to do this - I just – I just thought you could be, for once," Ali howled, "_the spring soldier!_"

Bucky did not speak to her for all of that day, but he did keep the arm on until one of the goats tore it off him later in the evening.

[]

It was the first time in 13 days.

"Hey," Ali called softly, shaking Bucky awake. "Hey, Buck."

Bucky spasmed back into wakefulness, and swung his armless shoulder at her. She didn't flinch. He was breathing as if he'd run a marathon, and Ali gently pushed him back down onto his blankets.

"Scoot over," she murmured, and he did. Ali lay down beside him, facing him. "You alright?"

"It's-it's nothing," he said as his breathing stabilized. His jaw worked furiously.

"You were moaning," Ali said, pushing his sweaty hair back from his face. "You haven't done that in a while." She used her sleeve to wipe his face and his neck, holding his hand firmly. After a while, he let go of her hand and rolled over onto his side so they were face to face.

"Have you nightmared, since, you know?" he asked in a low voice, sounding guilty.

"I'm alright," Ali replied shortly. "Do you think you can go back to sleep, or do you want to talk?"

"Neither," he replied shortly, getting up and taking his blanket with him. "I'm gonna go for a swim. Wanna come?"

"God, it's like you're speaking directly to my soul," she breathed, and got up after him. The two of them swam into the river under the moonlight. The water was bright under the moonlight, and the trees were welcoming rather than menacing. Around the village, the Wakandans planted trees and placed metal rods that deterred parasitical pests, and there wasn't a mosquito in sight.

"I love this place," Bucky said, floating on his back. Ali rested her head against his stomach, with her eyes closed.

"Yeah?" she murmured, slowly falling asleep. Bucky righted himself, and Ali fell backward, spluttering. He loomed over her, grinning, and dodged when she spat water at him. "That's the last time I wake you up, nightmare or not," she said, glaring at him.

"Aw, now don't say that," Bucky drawled, and cleared the hair from her face.

"I brought shampoo," Ali said with her eyes closed, and pulled it out of her pocket. Bucky shampooed her hair while she dozed, best as he could with one hand. He was actually pretty good. However, he accidentally dunked her head underwater while trying to rinse it out. She hit him hard in the shoulder, but returned the favor nonetheless. Her touch was gentle but thorough, and Bucky found himself dozing while she washed his hair. She rinsed it out when his breathing deepened, and flew him back, which dried him off.

He woke alone at sunrise, as per usual, and found Ali snoring in her room. He threw a towel in her face. She threw it back and went on sleeping. When he stayed in her doorway, watching, she motioned for her to join him and threw the blanket over him, too.

[]

Steve came to them sometime later.

"You look like you're doing well," he was saying to Bucky when she arrived in front of the house, moving water from the river through the air in large droplets, big as her head. She dropped the water, which came crashing down around her. Steve and Bucky looked up.

"Steve!" she yelled, running at him. He caught her, and her momentum pushed him back a half step. "You grew a beard!"

"Ali. It's good to see you," he said, holding her at arm's length, looking her over. He frowned, peering into her face. "Your eyes, they're-?" he began.

"Beautiful?" she supplied helpfully, grinning.

"They're clear," he told her, "but yeah, that, too."

"I haven't had nightmares in a long while," she explained, beaming.

"That's great, Ali, really great. Especially since we need you."

Ali sobered immediately.

"What's – what's wrong?" she asked, then laughed at herself. "The world need saving again?"

"Just an average day in the job," Steve agreed.

"Should have known," Ali said, shaking her head and smiling ruefully.

"What, you get attached to the goats?" Bucky interjected from beside Steve. She looked up, surprised. He was studying her, and he looked surlier than ever.

"One of them literally has my name – she is my legacy," she replied seriously, as self-importantly as she could.

"He, actually," Bucky said under his breath.

"What?"

[]

Nat and Sam had come with.

"It's good to see you," she murmured as she embraced Ali. She nodded to Bucky, and Ali only noticed their silent exchange as she walked over to Sam.

"Got some sort of history, haven't they?" he murmured and Ali's jaw worked without her knowledge. Sam studied her wryly, and she shook her head.

"How was living in Wakanda with an assassin? You get pretty good at goat-herding, Tweetie bird?" he asked slyly, and Ali grinned widely. She'd missed Sam and his manner of speaking, which was smooth yet somehow mildly ingratiating. Ali immediately assumed old habits, and replied in a similar manner

"You should see my abs, Big Bird," she snorted, and pushed him familiarly. When she thought Sam wasn't watching, however, she watched the two assassins with sharp eyes.

She did not realize that she had an audience however, as Steve cocked his eyebrow at Sam over her head.

[]

Bucky had often tried to help Ali cook, but found that he was a bumbling mess that just got in the way. He watched sullenly as Steve and Ali cooked almost completely in sync. Sam stared openly at him.

"What do you want?" he asked brusquely. Sam shrugged easily.

"Nothing – it's just you're either very constipated or you don't like Ali's curry."

"No one can hate Ali's curry," Nat chipped in, and Bucky found that she too was studying him, looking amused.

Bucky downed his beer quickly when Ali and Steve both reached for a spice and knocked it over. Ali caught the spices out of the air while Steve dove for the container before it fell to the ground. They chuckled and took turns using it. By then, Nat was smiling openly and Sam looked mildly pissed at Bucky.

[]

Dinner was a fun affair.

Ali sat between Sam and Steve and balanced her time between eating and teasing them. She especially enjoyed making jabs at Steve's face bear.

"It's very impressive," Ali said sincerely.

"And a very useful storage unit for any leftover food," Sam chipped in. "You know the other day, Cap was taking a nap and I found half a granola bar in that?"

"No!" Ali exclaimed emphatically.

"Help me out here, Buck," Steve said, grinning helplessly.

"You're on your own there, old man," Bucky said, but his eyes were twinkling.

"That's right – without his beard James looks 18. Your beard is completely cosmetic, Steve," Nat drawled easily. Ali's heart skipped a beat, but she added on before anyone thought she was being weird.

"You screw up your brows so much you look all 200 years old," she teased, smoothing out his brow with the pad of a thumb.

"That's cold," Steve said, but he was smiling behind her beard. "Now – is anyone going to give me the face wipe or what. I only got a little curry on the beard."

Even as Nat handed over the wet wipes, the others continued to tease.

"Do you blow dry?"

"Have you named it yet?"

"How about Thompson – Thompson's a _great_ name."

"Thompson's a terrible name!"

[]

"I'll do the dishes," Bucky said after dinner.

"I'll help dry," Nat said, before Ali could offer.

"By all means," Sam chuckled.

"You can clear the table, then," Ali volunteered for him, and kicked Sam off the couch. She leaned comfortably against the couch, and Steve swung his arm over the backrest.

"That was great, Ali," he said as the others cleaned up.

"I had your help," she reminded him, and proceeded to doze slightly.

"How've you been?" she asked after a while.

"Oh, you know," Steve said, his voice a sleepy grumble. "Flying around trying to keep illegal alien weaponry from global terrorists and ne'er-do-wells – all's fun and good. I think tonight's the first time since we got started that everyone's just unwound, had a good time."

"Huh. 'Sit bad in Syria?" she murmured, looking up at Steve's face bear, which they'd ended up naming Eloise.

"You'll see when we get there," Steve replied, smiling wryly at her. "How 'bout you? Has Bucky been a good host?"

"More like I've been a spectacular guest," Ali snorted. They stared at Bucky's back as he cleaned the dishes adroitly with one hand. "You're not asking him to come with?"

"He deserves to rest after all he's been through," Steve replied.

"And you? Maybe it's your turn to get acquainted with the goats," Ali suggested. "Nat's fully capable of leading any operations while you took a sabbatical. You'd be safe here, too, and I'm ready to go back into the field. A three-man team isn't bad – low profile and all that."

"One person always has their back exposed," Steve countered, shaking his head. "Anyway, I'm not old enough to be retiring just yet."

Ali opened her mouth to protest, but Sam reappeared.

"Yeah, don't you want to get acquainted with Eloise?" he asked Ali, flopping onto the couch and leaning against her. She took his weight and leaned against Steve, creating a little sleepy human train.

"She's a messy bitch," Ali said good-naturedly. Steve made a half-sigh, and she laughed lowly.

[]

"It's good to see you," Nat said as she dried the dishes.

"Especially since none of us are in imminent danger of dying or killing? You could say that again," he grunted, and smiled sideways at her.

"Not just that, James," Nat said, and put down her washcloth. Bucky stopped too, and faced her.

"It's good to see you too, Natalia," he said, sincerely, and went back to the dish he was washing.

"Huh," Nat said, starting up again. "I thought you'd be happier to see me. You said some pretty bold things the last time we were together."

"So did you," Bucky reminded her. "I don't see you jumping to steal me away, like you once offered." He was smiling and he shook his head at the sink.

"Touché. I've been through a lot while you were under and I've changed, but I suppose I didn't realize how quickly you'd change once you were out," Nat explained. Bucky finished the dishes, swirled water around the sink, and Nat dried the last bit off.

"Rather than become a different person… a lot of it has returned to me," Bucky explained, slowly, carefully. Nat nodded.

"I always did wonder how much of it was you in there. And I suppose I wasn't quite sure of myself, either," she agreed. "It was always hazy in between."

Bucky grunted, and a dark look passed over his face. He wiped up the sink and counter, and turned to lean against it, spotting the little human train.

"It's all sharp. It's all there. But it's a tangled mess for me," he growled, watching as Ali stroked Eloise absentmindedly.

"What do you remember?" Nat prompted patiently, following his gaze to where the little human train erupted into a fit of laughter at something Sam said.

"I remember the Red Room… the first time we sparred… and the last," he said, with finality.

"That's all there is to it," Nat said, and touched his left shoulder. Bucky shuddered. He caught her hand, took it away from his shoulder, and dropped it by her side.

"Can I see it?" he asked, looking toward Nat's abdomen, where he'd once shot her.

"Not here," Nat said, looking to the little human train again. This time, they'd moved so that Steve leaned on Ali who leaned on Sam.

[]

Ali watched as Nat led Bucky out of the house, and missed Sam's punchline.

[]

When Bucky got back inside, the little human train had dispersed, and neither Sam nor Steve could tell him where Ali had gone.

"You gonna be okay, Buck?" Steve asked when it was just the two of them.

"What? Finally getting the peace and quiet I was promised with my retirement plan?" he snorted, smiling good-naturedly. Steve noticed his eyes didn't crinkle much.

"She's in love with you," Bucky said at last.

"I have no idea what you're talking about," Steve said gravely. "Or who, for that matter."

"Ali. She's in love with you," he explicated, his jaw working tightly as he exhaled through his nose.

"And you?" Steve asked.

"You knew?" Bucky asked, surprised.

"No, because she's not in love with me," Steve scoffed. "What about you?"

"She's a good girl," Bucky replied, clapping Steve on the shoulder. "Treat her right, punk."

"Now I've heard it all, you jerk."

[]

Ali came back to the hut after a trial run in her new suit. She found Bucky sleeping on the couch with his mouth slightly open. She went over and gently stroked his face. He caught her hand and held it there.

"Where've you been?" he rasped, not opening his eyes.

"Clearing my head," she murmured back, taking a seat on the floor beside him. "What're you doing on the couch?"

"Steve took my room and Sam's in the guest room. Nat's taken your bed but you should be able to squeeze in," he muttered, his hand warm against hers.

"And here? Do you think I'd be able to squeeze in here?" she whispered, unsure that Bucky would hear her. His eyes shot open and focused quickly on her. Ali's heart beat between her ears, and she swallowed thickly.

"I guess I'll go inside, then," she said, grinning and trying to seem light hearted. Bucky didn't let go of her, and she didn't move to leave. Finally, she lurched forward and up, and Bucky let her fingers slip through his as she headed into her room.

[]

The morning came quickly.

Ali's new suit was astonishingly well made – it was aerodynamic, body-heat regulating, machine washable, and had a stealth mode. It was also incredibly light and comfortable – Ali had to keep swinging around and checking out her butt to make sure it was still covered. She'd also gotten some Wakandan circle sickles, which could be retracted and stuck in her gloves at the palms. That meant they were always at the ready, for whatever situation that actually required a hand-to-hand weapon. She hadn't been able to see what she looked like in it the night before, so she did so now.

"What," Bucky asked, finding her checking out her ass, "are you doing?"

"Do I look hot? Do I look fine as hell?" she asked excitedly, facing him. He looked her over unabashedly. She didn't mind, but would never have expected it from him. Steve, his best friend, never looked at any part of a woman's body between her head and her feet, unless from 50 feet away.

"Sure," he said, at last. She punched him in the chest, grinning. He caught it, and gently held her fist to his chest while the moment lasted. It passed too soon, and Ali found herself internally debating whether she should ask him about his past with Natasha or not. She decided against it, and found Bucky studying her with a carefully neutral expression on his face.

"What is it?" she asked, forcing herself to grin. "Trying to memorize my beautiful face?"

"I could ask the same of you. You trying to bore a hole into my skull?" he drawled. Ali grinned broadly.

"I couldn't – your skull is too thick."

[]

He walked her to the jet, and watched morosely as they flew away.

Lebanon was a mess, if you knew to look for illegal alien weaponry. Their time in Syria was even worse.

Ali had mostly stabilized, especially after Shuri's help, but even she was prone to high-stress induced nightmares.

"You're up, too?" Nat called as Steve got himself another cup of water. She'd been mulling over the last couple fiascos – missions – in the darkness, unable to sleep herself. "Staying hydrated, too, I see. Gonna be up for a while, huh."

"Well, no one's getting any sleep with Ali… like that," Steve replied, as he leaned back against the counter and crossed his arms. He looked exhausted, which was not an easy look when you were Captain America. Sam flew the jet silently from the front.

"What have you been doing till now, anyway?" Natasha asked as she got herself a bottle of water as well. She gulped it down in two drinks and wiped her brow with a bandaged forearm.

"I don't know, just been reading up on stuff – history books, modern classics, graphic novels. Anything I could get my hands on," Steve said.

"So, you're not going to-?" Natasha asked, gesturing to where Ali was sprawled over several seats. Another moan sounded from her. A vein worked in Steve's temple, and he clenched his jaw.

"Calm down, Steve. Just asking. Anyway, I'm going to take a shower, and if she hasn't shut up by the time I'm done, I'm camping outside," Nat said, and left, patting his arm as she passed him by. Steve stood staring at Ali, and he set his bottle down without taking a sip.

Ali stirred violently when Steve crouched beside her. She kicked up in her blanket, and he caught her shoulder before she could bash it into the wall. She woke with a shudder into a seated position. Steve withdrew his hand quickly, and she breathed raggedly into her palms.

"S-Steve?" she called. "S-sorry, was I yelling? I'm-I'm sorry. I'll keep quiet." Her voice steadily strengthened. "Sorry," she repeated, shuddering into the wall. Her hair was matted, her face pale, with bags under her eyes down to her knees. She scrabbled for the blanket, and Steve helped her pull it over her shoulders.

"Don't be," he said, gently, and sat down beside her. She scooted away from him, almost instinctively, and he could feel rather than hear her sobs. He pried her off the wall, and leaned her into his arms. She didn't fight him, and they stayed that way until she cried herself out.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Steve asked, once she had quieted into a shivering mess.

"No," she whispered, horrified. "That might make it r-real – again."

That was ominous.

"Do you want me to stay?" he asked instead.

"No," she whispered, again, and looked at him full in the face. Her eyes were puffy, and he would have laughed in days gone by. "I'm okay."

"You're obviously not," Steve argued shortly. His eyes were so terribly sad, and she knew why. Ever since Wakanda, she'd been more reserved than ever, and even now she was pulling away.

"No. I am not okay. I'll be better though," Ali replied raggedly, and attempted a smile. Steve saw it for what it was, and smiled sadly back.

"There are a couple more hours till we have to be up. Do you want to try going back to sleep?" Steve asked, and Ali nodded weakly against him. She lay down and Steve tried to evenly distribute the blanket over her. She didn't stir until morning.

[]

They went on with their mission as if nothing had happened. A part of it required undercover scouting, and since Ali had been on international television countless times, and Steve was Captain fucking America, they stayed behind. Ali had argued the point that Nat was just as famous as she was, but she had rolled her eyes at Ali, and left anyway. It was true that Nat could get into any role she wanted, even male, and could hide in plain sight anyway. Ali wasn't worried about her or Sam.

Steve entered her room through the connecting door to their hotel rooms. Ali woke as the door closed behind him, eyes wide and teeth clenched. She was shivering, although it was warm. Steve motioned with his hand to scooch, his face creased in tired lines. Ali, shaking too hard to move quickly, scooched, the blanket around her chest. Steve slid into bed, and took her hands into warm paws.

"What was it this time?" he asked, as Ali leaned against his shoulder and tried to calm her breathing.

"I couldn't breathe," she said, and felt his breath on bare shoulder. He reached for her arm, found it cold, and rubbed it up and down, before wrapping her completely in the blanket.

"Maybe keeping warm will help with the nightmares," he suggested, helping her back down and tucking her in.

"Don't go." Ali's voice was like a child's. Steve sighed, but crawled back onto the bed and lay down, facing her. Wrapped in the blanket, she cuddled into his chest. "I'm sorry," she breathed.

"What for?" he murmured, really wishing she'd shut up and sleep.

"For being psychotic?"

Steve's eyes opened despite himself. He understood exactly what she meant.

"We're at war, soldier. It's known to happen."

Ali grinned, and her teeth flashed in the darkness.

[]

Ali woke Steve up the next night. He blinked dimly before heavily pushing himself into a seated situation.

"Thanks," he whispered when she handed him some water.

"It's okay," she murmured, sitting gently on the edge of the bed and watching as he gulped water desperately.

"So," Ali said conversationally as Steve wiped her mouth on his arm. "How was your day?" They both laughed. They ended up talking late into the night, seated against the flimsy headboard.

"I loved you for the longest time," Ali said suddenly, interrupting Steve's account of Bucky's goats shitting in his bag during his last visit.

"I know," he replied, gravely. He was smiling, though, when he swung his face around to look at her.

"Did we have a chance, do you think, maybe before I tried to strangle you?" she asked, turning her body to face him, too. An eyelash had fallen on his cheek. She brushed it off, and showed him. He blew it off her finger.

"Maybe," Steve said, finishing a deep shrug with an exhale that was not quite a sigh. "But you don't feel the same, anymore, do you?"

Ali shook her head, slowly. "I think I didn't quite love you the way I wanted to," she agreed. "Anyway, I'd never compare to Peggy."

"That's unfair," Steve protested, frowning at his hands, which were held limply in his lap. "We met in very different circumstances." He turned to smile at her, reminding her very much of a golden retriever. "Anyway, I'd never compare to Peter."

"Hey!" she laughed, nudging his shoulder. "God, I miss him."

She looked to him, abashedly.

It had slipped out.

"I know."

He was smiling, but the lines in his face became cruel to look at. She looked away.

"Is there anyone else?" Steve asked, after a couple minutes.

"Yeah? Here?" Ali asked, jumping slightly. She had been thinking morosely about Peter, and Steve's voice jarred her.

"Here," he agreed.

"I," she said, furrowing her brow, "don't know."

"'Sokay," he assured her, when he saw her miserable face. Her eyes looked lost, something he saw every day in the mirror. "Hey, c'mere."

He led her out of bed and held her as they swayed to silent music, for old times' sake, until Ali dozed against his chest. She drooled twice on him, but only because the first time Steve thought she was crying.

[]

Sometimes, they had Wanda with them, and she and Ali never minded a bit of competition. When you moved things with your mind or controlled the very air around you, things could go a lot of ways. Once, it ended with Ali getting a plane thrown at her.

"Do you know what your name is?" Natasha asked, flashing a light in each of her eyes. Ali scowled fiercer than she felt, and grimaced almost immediately when her head spun.

"I've been concussed before, Nat. I can state the Pledge of Allegiance if you fucking wanted it," she muttered, still trying to act tough.

"Your name would suffice," Natasha replied, smiling.

"Too bad," Wanda drawled from behind her, where she was keeping watch. "I'd like to hear it."

"Later, then," Ali sighed. "Alizeh Ester Valenteri; maybe 28? From another dimension; I'm 5'6"; I weigh, I dunno, maybe 114 lbs?"

"Shit, Ali," Sam said in her earpiece. "The Pledge would have been shorter."

Ali, Nat, and Wanda each erupted into protests at Sam's foul language. Steve sighed resignedly.

[]

"Tell him I said hi," Ali told Steve while he packed up to head back to Wakanda. He didn't have a lot of possessions, but Ali liked to pack him a lot of snacks. Currently, she was stuffing him a second bag full of nutritious and healthy options.

"Why don't you tell him yourself?" he asked.

"Yeah, well, I can greet him on the phone, if you know how to work one of those," she answered, with a shrug. Her shows of nonchalance never worked in a fifty-yard radius of Steve. She was unbelievably antsy for some reason. Steve raised a brow at her behavior and she pretended not to notice.

"No, I mean – you could go with me and say hi to him in person."

"I wouldn't want to steal your time with him," Ali replied, briefly looking up. She quickly avoided his gaze, though, and returning to her packing.

"Besides," she muttered. "What would I have to say to a couple of hundred-year-old men?"

"That's enough, Ali," Steve said as he gently took his bag from her and began to pull out handfuls of granola bars. She grabbed one and ripped it open. "He likes you, y'know."

"He named a goat after me to piss me off," Ali replied incredulously around a mouthful.

"He named a goat after you because he knew he was going to miss you," Steve corrected.

"Yeah, miss pissing me off," Ali snorted, but she smiled. "I mean it, Steve – I want you guys to catch up in peace. Safe trip."

[]

"Ali told me to say hi," Steve told Bucky in an offhand manner.

"Tell her I'm going to eat the goat."

"You still haven't eaten the goat?"

Bucky didn't answer.

"I haven't seen you this way since 1939," Steve informed his back. Bucky took a while to answer.

"Let's go catch that goat," he said decisively.

They didn't catch the goat.

[]

"You didn't go with Steve to Wakanda?" Nat asked when she spotted Ali sprawled over a desk, with ten or so granola bar wrappers scattered about her.

"How is that what you're curious of?" Ali groaned, rolling onto her side and falling asleep from granola overload.

* * *

Thanks for reading!

This is the penultimate chapter. :)


	9. Infinity War (2017)

Last chapter

* * *

**Infinity War** (2018)

The world went to shit, and Steve got a call.

They flew as quickly as they could to Europe, while Ali relayed all that she knew about Thanos.

"I've only heard ghost stories, but… on my dimension, he was this mad Titan – wanted to cure the universe's population problem with his rock collection," she explained, brow furrowed. "No one have a purple pen? Crayon? Nothing? Anyway, he was set on impressing his girlfriend Mistress Death – who was the actual personification of death, by the way, so not easily impressed – by increasing the number of her subjects. Control all of the Infinity Stones – kill half of all living creatures."

Sam whistled, low and long.

"That'd better not be what's happening here."

"Yeah, because who'd want something as powerful as Death personified as a woman, right?" Ali said, grinning.

"I don't think that's the problem," Nat replied drily.

"Yeah, considering that the most dangerous person on this plane is a woman," Sam added. Nat and Ali exchanged looks. Ali was very competitive, but Nat looked resigned.

"You better not be calling me a dame, Sam," Steve chuckled from behind.

[]

Ali shot out of the plane even as they hovered above the city. She immediately set off, searching for a familiar pair of lungs, and instead found two pairs of massive, very alien lungs.

"The warehouse," she reported, "I repeat – the center warehouse. Wanda and Vision just collided in there, and the alien its are going in presently."

She then dived in, to join in the fun.

Ali flew in from above, blasting the spear from the alien lady's hands. She heard it clatter on the pavement behind her, and was almost completely taken by surprise when it launched itself back toward its master, aiming to impale Ali on the way. She grit her teeth and twisted out of the way. She was so hard pressed to dodge that she didn't even get to swear.

"Should've guessed," she muttered.

The blue ram lady immediately began to shoot at her and Ali retaliated with vicious blasts of wind and deadly condensed air bullets. They both stopped, almost instinctively, at the passing of a train.

Ali sighed. Steve was almost late, but then again, one had to make allowances for the elderly.

Steve caught the spear as it came hurtling toward him and Nat and Sam swept in. Ali wrenched the spear away from the other alien, this one a 'he', kicking him back in the chest as she did so. Sam kicked the blue ram lady in the chest and sent her flying backwards, aiming two guns at her.

Seeing the two aliens depart, Ali flew over to check on Vision, who was having problems phasing. She began to mutter little nonsense ditties under her breath.

Miss Suzy had a steamboat. The steamboat had a bell.

Miss Suzy went to heaven. The steamboat went to hell.

[]

"So," she said conversationally to Wanda. Ali froze. She didn't have a witty greeting, a punchline – anything.

"It's only the end of the world, Ali," Wanda drawled familiarly, her smile easy. Her eyes, however, were dark. Ali squeezed her tight.

[]

Ali stepped into the New Avengers compound, looking around nostalgically.

"Wonder what they did to our rooms," she told Sam in an undertone.

"Oh, I have no doubt that Stark threw out any and all of our personal belongings," he replied in an equally cheerful voice.

"They didn't change the codes," Nat announced from up front, looking back gravely at them. They stepped into the facilities, silent.

[]

Ali sat defeated as they discussed destroying the Mind Stone – and Vision with it. She couldn't keep her eyes from Wanda's face, however, and instantly regretted it.

[]

"Wanna talk about it?" Ali asked Nat before they set off.

"Yeah, no, I'm good," Nat replied, smiling. "There's nothing to talk about." She brought up a finger when Ali stepped closer to hug her. "_Don't_." There was a threat left unsaid, and Ali grinned.

"Yeah, sure. I'd like to stay unmaimed for the rest of this apocalypse. Is that a word? Unmaimed?" she asked no one in particular, putting her hands up.

"No," Bruce replied shortly as he boarded the jet.

[]

"So, Bruce," Ali said, feigning nonchalance as they flew to Wakanda. "How's life been treating you?"

"Well, I went green for two years on a planet called Sakaar, helped Thor kill his sister," he reeled off, when she interjected.

"Wait, what? So Loki is actually a girl?"

"No, his older sister – you don't know her. Goddess of death, went by the name of Hela. We had to destroy Asgard to kill her," Bruce said, sighing heavily.

"You destroyed Asgard?" Ali repeated slowly. "Dammit, that was my entire retirement plan."

"Wait, you've been to Asgard?" he asked, confused.

"Nah, but I've heard stories," she admitted. "Thor and his mead stories – also, apparently they're mostly carnivorous." She cleared her throat. "Anyway, you were saying?"

"Well, we destroyed Asgard and escaped on a ship, headed to Earth, when Thanos attacked. He let half of the ship go, and chose the other half to die. Thor, Loki, Heimdall, and I were in the other half. Heimdall - big gatekeeper guy who can see everything in the nine realms - he sent me back to Earth when he saw that the Hulk can't defeat Thanos," Bruce said forlornly.

"Loki's alive?" Steve called from up front.

"Yeah, but he's kind of flip flopped. I think Thor should be able to keep him under control," Bruce replied, and Steve nodded with an inscrutable expression on his face. Ali patted Bruce's arm sympathetically.

"Don't worry about it – I'm sure there'll be plenty of aliens for Hulk to smash," Ali said, but he shook his head with a short huff of laughter.

"The Hulk refuses to come out – in New York, while I was with Tony, he just wouldn't."

Ali gave it a moment to sink in.

"O-kay then, so what has Bruce Banner recently been developing in order to save the universe?" she asked lightly, still jarred. It was a real strategic blow not having the Hulk, and Ali felt it in her bones.

"Me and Tony, we did work more on Veronica, but I don't know if he made any real progress on it," Bruce said, with a small smile on his face.

"Knowing Tony, he probably has them in a number of colors," Ali quipped, daring to feel hopeful.

"Yeah, you're right. We shouldn't miss the Hulk too much," Bruce agreed, swallowing a sigh.

Ali looked up to see Steve studying them, and smiled thinly. It would have been better if he hadn't smiled back.

[]

Ali waited in the back of the procession as Steve checked up on Bucky. It was only when T'Challa led Steve away that Bucky spotted her, and they got to catch up.

"How's Valentine?" Ali asked as she approached, and Bucky laughed.

"Oh, I ate him months ago," he replied, as they embraced.

"Nice arm," she said, feeling it.

"You know, I can actually feel you massaging it?" he asked. She punched it instead, and swore in as many languages she knew, while Bucky laughed himself silly. He had a lovely laugh, and Ali found that in light of recent events, they could all do with a bit more laughter. With Bucky, it came easy.

"You look better," Ali said, watching him intently. "Conditioner?"

"Believe it or not, having some alone time did me a world of good," Bucky teased.

Steve watched them from where he stood with T'challa. A small smile hid itself under Eloise.

T'Challa watched on as the White Wolf lied himself silly, and recalled what a mess he'd been when the king had approached him the previous day.

[]

Facing off the alien devil things on the Wakandan veldt was terrifying, but Ali's heart pumped with adrenaline. While the others stayed in formation, Ali bounced around in the air, unable to keep still.

"You up for a wager, Big Bird?" she asked Sam, with a shit-eating grin.

"Girl, I've got guns and bombs and all kinds of toys – you've got two party rings," he replied derisively.

"Oh, it's on like Digimon, bird brain," Ali said, cracking her knuckles. They set off into the air, shooting down any space dogs that managed to get through. Ali kept a close count. She shouldn't have. There was no end.

Ali fought like a monster – she got in where the Outriders were many and whipped up whirlwinds and tornadoes, but they didn't die as easy as the Chitauri, for they clawed at her and climbed up to bite her. She screamed as she made a void instead, bringing them to her and launching them straight back out of the barrier again – to at least buy some time.

When Thor came onto the battlefield, she was ecstatic.

The two of them got up in the air, and Ali made a void to suck in the dogs to them while Thor shot them down.

"Where's your brother?" Ali yelled over the conundrum.

"Dead!" he shouted back, and they switched places.

"Again?" she shouted back. He did not reply

[]

"How you holding up?" Ali asked, landing next to Bucky. He punched out an alien's brains while she seized a dozen alien lungs and stopped them dead in their tracks. He glanced back at her, eyes wild, and turned away just as quickly

"Oh, you know – I've had practice in the village," he replied, breathing too hard to be nonchalant. He retrieved his gun.

"The kids get violent?" she asked, giving him some space to breathe.

"The goats," he corrected, and patted her shoulder. "Thanks."

"Stay alive!" she replied, flying off again.

[]

Once, she flew too low.

A rabid space dog launched itself at her back and attached itself there, clawing at her with four arms. One arm seized her by the back of her head and bent it back, to break her neck or to bite her throat out. Ali grit her teeth and frantically searched for its three lungs. They were much hardier than human lungs, and Ali steeled herself for the worst.

Bucky saw Ali flying crazily, trying to throw off the offender. He shot it down while she did a loop-de-loop. She paused to locate him and found him looking so feral she was sure her heart stopped.

"I'm gonna beat you!" Sam warned when he found her idling in the air.

"As if!" she screeched, following him back into the fray.

[]

"Somebody get to Vision!" Steve yelled frantically into his coms.

"Goddamn," she swore under her breath. She landed next to Steve and took out the space dog trying to eat his face. "You," she said, "have somewhere you need to be."

He nodded, panting, and set off toward the treeline. Ali faced the aliens with a monologue ready and had to swallow it when they all came to help bury her.

[]

Thor and Ali went around destroying the retreating ships – Thor with his lightning, Ali imploding them with her voids. She headed back, however, when Steve warned them of incoming.

She was just in time to see the big purple raisin wreak havoc on her friends.

Ali flew in from behind, waving her arms like a crazed conductor amidst her own chaotic music. She danced and dodged, but to no avail; she could not touch him, could not scratch him. She aimed for his lungs, for his throat, and closed them off, but he disappeared and reappeared at will. She was vacuum and void, but then, there was a flash of red, and so was he, and she was scrabbling at her neck trying to catch a breath, and there was blood beneath those fingernails. She collapsed, and only when Steve came in at him again did she heave a massive breath and lay shaken by spasms like a goldfish on dry land.

[]

When it was time to go, Ali knew. She called to Nat, who was closest.

"Don't worry," she said, reaching out to her friend. "It's okay."

And it was.

Her hand never reached Nat.

* * *

Hope you enjoyed. :)

Next time I'll return with Endgame material.


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